


Making Choices

by halcyyonn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Apocalypse, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26113147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcyyonn/pseuds/halcyyonn
Summary: Sometimes things go horribly wrong and choices have to be made to survive.In order to survive, Ladybug became an assassin for hire, working for whichever government is in power and working for them until they're removed. She has a reputation, so everyone should know that she is NOT in any way a courier service, especially for the son of Gabriel Agreste, one of the current government.Yet, she finds herself being blackmailed into escorting Adrien Agreste to the other side of France to save the country from the inevitable chaos that will ensue if she fails. But what will happen when the choices get harder, and will they both make it to the end of their stories?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Kudos: 6





	1. An Offer

Everyone does what they have to in order to survive. It’s human nature, to not want to die before your time. Unfortunately, with the current state of the world, survival often meant choices people would usually never have to make. And yet, they make their decisions and suffer the consequences, even if it only gives them another day of borrowed time.

Even Ladybug had to make those choices. She ran errands, if you could call them that, for the people in power. Of course, that changed almost weekly, but the jobs she did never changed. Ladybug had become a contract killer, just to keep her family safe.

The few days before everything went downhill were some of the most eerily peaceful Ladybug could remember. There were no akumas, no fights with Chloe, nothing going remotely wrong. That should have been the first sign something was very wrong.

Since then, it had been a constant struggle for anything and everything. Food was starting to run short, stockpiled by the rich and influential, safety was a luxury, and groups of people fought over power constantly. The back and forth had taken a hold of everyday life quickly, with everyone being impacted differently.

While people like Ladybug had thrived and forced their way to a relatively stable position, others had perished within the early months of what had been dubbed ‘The Power Shift’. When the government cycled through people every week and no one knew the rules for longer than a few days, the rich hid away with their stockpiles behind gates built on terror.

It was behind these gates of terror Ladybug was sitting in front of her latest victim, twirling her knives between her fingers as the politician trembled in front of her. The room reeked of fancy perfumes, something that was more than a luxury at that point. Food was more important than how your house smelled, and this man was clearly in the elite to be able to waste so much of something.

Sweat was starting to drip down his face, and he struggled against the rough bindings Ladybug had used to trap him in place. The victim didn’t even bother to scream, even though he could of.

There was no use. Ladybug had a reputation. He would be dead before anyone could save him and she would be gone, disappeared like ghost. He knew his time had come, and it had come in red, hired to kill.

This was a message to anyone who saw it.

Standing up, Ladybug threw a single knife, lodging it between the politician’s eyes. Her job was finished and she would never return. That was the nature of the job. She would receive an image and an address, and she would dispose of them without knowing anything about them. Not even their name. It helped everything blend together and fade away. A face without a name was just another face in the crowd.

Not even bothering to retrieve her knife, Ladybug ran towards the open window and leapt out of it, waiting for the familiar wires to grab her from the air and carry her to the helicopter that was undoubtedly above her. Except no wires came. There was no one there to get her out.

A wave of panic washed over her as she fell, until her instincts kicked in and she activated the hidden parachute strapped to her back. The parachute flew out behind Ladybug, slowly her descent slightly, but not quick enough. She had only jumped out of the third floor and the ground was approaching rapidly.

The air began to whistle past her ears as she landed on the ground with a thud, a blunt pain smashing into every bone in her body. Why was there no one to catch her? Something must have gone wrong.

Pushing through the pain, Ladybug forced her hands and arms to work, moving them underneath her. Forcing her arms to extend, she fought against everything telling her to stay still until the pain receded on its own. She didn’t have time for that.

Seconds later, her arms gave out on her and Ladybug fell onto her elbows with a groan.

“Do you need some help?”

A sudden burst of adrenaline coursing through her veins, Ladybug threw herself to her feet, a knife already poised to defend herself. “Who are you?”

The woman standing in front of Ladybug was dressed in head to toe in black, from her hair to the mask that covered her entire face. She seemed like she was trying to be intimidating, but after months killing to survive, she was almost friendly looking. “You don’t need to know that yet.”

Raising her knife as a slight threat, Ladybug stepped closer to the mystery woman, looking her over for any weapons that might be concealed in her clothing. “I think I do.”

“All will be explained in time.” The woman looked behind Ladybug and nodded.

Before Ladybug could turn around, she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and everything blurred before another blow knocked her out completely.

When she woke up, a dull throbbing coursed through the back of her skull. Clearly they didn’t have a better way to kidnap her. The second she realised she had been kidnapped, Ladybug started to check everything she had taken on the mission with her.

All of her knives were gone, as well as the various small bags strapped to her waist and legs. Whoever had kidnapped her had even taken the parachute off her back.

Once she had confirmed she was defenceless, Ladybug tried to work out where she was. From the occasional bouncing and the rumbling outside, she was in some kind of vehicle, probably a van. Sliding across the floor, she pressed her ear against the cool metal, only to have her head bounce when they went over a succession of bumps. Speed bumps.

Outside, metal started grinding together. That meant wherever she was being taken had electricity, which was rare. That meant they were taking her somewhere with both electricity and speed bumps, a mundane detail that was didn’t fit many buildings, only the government buildings and a few houses.

But why would she be kidnapped if they were going to a government building?

A speaker buzzed to life somewhere in the back of the van, the woman from before beginning to speak. “I see you are awake, Ladybug. We are nearly at our destination. Prepare to exit the vehicle.”

Ladybug knew she wasn’t going to get answers from the woman, so stayed silent. She would have a chance to either get the answers she wanted or escape, whichever one presents itself first.

The van rolled to a stop and Ladybug tried to stand up, hoping she would be able to take whoever was opening the door by surprise. Of course, to stick with the pattern that was starting to show, the back of the van didn’t open. The side slid open and Ladybug was grabbed again, a bag being pushed roughly over her face.

Not even bothering to put up a fight, Ladybug went limp, allowing herself to be carried up the stairs and inside, hearing the door click. Trying to ignore the fabric scratching against her face, she focused on the sounds around her and which direction they seemed to be travelling.

Shoes clicked against marble floors and air conditioning whirred, keeping the air cool for everyone inside the building, another luxury only the powerful could afford.

After a set of disorienting turns, Ladybug gave up on trying to remember their directions, hoping there would be another escape route somewhere close by. She wasn’t going to stick around for long, as soon as she found out what was going on, Ladybug would be gone before anyone could stop her.

More shoes clicked past them as Ladybug was carried through the building. Eventually, Ladybug could hear voices growing louder and louder until they came to a stop. A door whooshed open in front of them and Ladybug was carried inside before being thrown on the floor. Her body screamed as the already tender bruises were smashed into another hard floor.

“Is this the assassin?” A man began speaking, his voice and tone quite telling of how highly he considered himself. If Ladybug was right, that was Armand D’argencourt, the fencing teacher that had run for Mayor. He seemed to have gotten the power he wished for, after all.

The woman that Ladybug had first interacted with was still in the room. If only she could get bag off her head. “Yes, sir. This is Ladybug.”

Another person spoke, their voice more familiar than Ladybug would have liked. Chloe Bourgeois. “I thought she would have been more impressive, but she looks average. You’re trusting her with such an important task? Ridiculous!”

“Chloe, we are not here to insult Ladybug. She is the person that was chosen for the task and being rude to her will not help the situation.” Mayor Bourgeois was still the same as before the Power Shift, barely controlling his daughter and being little more than a doormat with the power to make decisions. It was a wonder he was still alive, but money does buy safety.

The bag was ripped from Ladybug’s head and she squinted against the fluorescent lights lining the ceiling. Once her eyes had adjusted, she managed to scan the people sitting in front of her. As she had already guessed, D’argencourt sat in front of her on the far left, Chloe on his left, the Mayor in the middle, Gabriel Agreste on his left and Prince Ali’s representative on the far right, from where Ladybug was. There were a few other people around, like Gabriel’s assistant and a few people dressed like the staff from Le Grand Paris.

“Welcome, Ladybug, to the New Government. We are in charge of Paris, and we intend to remain here. There is a way to keep Paris stable and create the utopia the world needs, and you are here to help us with it. You are to deliver-,” Gabriel began to monologue, only to have Ladybug cut him off.

“I’m not a delivery girl, I kill people for money and that’s it. If you have someone that needs to disappear, I can do that. Not carry packages around the country.”

Andre looked uncomfortable for a moment, before picking up where Gabriel left off. “It isn’t a package, so to speak.”

“Then what is it?”

“Adrien, come here.” Upon Gabriel’s call, a blond boy about Marinette’s age walked over. “This is my son, Adrien Agreste. You will be his escort to a classified location elsewhere in France. He is the key to stability in Paris, and France.”

Even though she recognised Adrien from the countless magazines she had owned before the Power Shift started, Ladybug shook her head, acting like he was unfamiliar. It was better if no one knew your connections. “I don’t escort people anywhere. I’m not a courier, and I’m not some kind of babysitting service. Find someone else.”

“Then you will be executed.” Gabriel’s voice didn’t show any emotion. It was bland and monotone, as if he was just a computer speaking through a person. “After your death, your family will follow. Are you really willing to be so selfish?”

Ladybug flew off the floor, heading straight for Gabriel. Before she could even make it a few steps, guards appeared out of nowhere and held her back, throwing her back to the floor. “Don’t you dare touch them!”

“They will not be harmed, if you cooperate. I will give you a few minutes to make your decision.”


	2. Adrien Agreste

Ladybug wasn’t happy about her new role as courier. In her mind, there was nothing worse than being forced to do something against your will, and this was about as far against her will as things had been recently. Sure, she wasn’t a fan of the assassination part of her job, but at least she wasn’t threatened into doing it. Whether that made the killing better or worse was unclear. 

After agreeing to escort Adrien Agreste to the ‘confidential location’, a servant had appeared to show her to her temporary accommodation for the night. A quick glance around the room told her the only escape was through the door, and that was locked the instant she was alone in the room. Ladybug was trapped, again. 

Hours seemed to pass before there was another sound. On top of the isolation, the sound was suffocating, crushing, a constant pressure pushing in on her until she was flattened underneath it. 

The knock on the door shattered the silence like a brick through a window. Ladybug snapped her head in the direction of the door, preparing for the worst. Anyone could be on the other side of the door and the new government had already established they had no problems using brute force against her. 

Another glance around the room showed there were no weapons either, everything was either bolted down or too large to be used efficiently. She was defenceless. 

A small panel of the door slid open, revealing another person at face height. Only their eyes were visible but their voice was clear. “Mister Agreste has information prepared about the journey. Read it before you depart.”

Staring into the eyes on the other side of the door, Ladybug realised it was the woman standing behind Gabriel Agreste when she had first arrived. She must be an assistant or some other higher ranking position, otherwise she wouldn’t have a place amongst their ranks.

Before Ladybug could ask about the woman’s identity, a thick folder was slipped through the panel, blocking her view of the other side of the door. Even though she knew this would be information she already knew, didn’t need to know or information that would put them in danger, Ladybug took the file. Best not to make her new ‘employers’ angry already.

Once they were on the road, she could ditch the entire file and never have to see it again. Then, she could do the job they way she wanted to, and the way that wouldn’t get them killed. From the way they were acting, the new government thought they knew everything, but they clearly didn’t. If they had taken the slightest amount of time to do their research, they would have found out Ladybug would have been much more receptive to a career change if an amount of money was involved. Preferably a large one.

“Dinner will arrive in twenty minutes. I would recommend you begin reading the information. You leave at dawn tomorrow, do not be late.”

They needed her help, yet they were ordering her around? Ladybug scoffed. She would say the new government didn’t have that long left before someone got sick of their power trip and removed them from the face of the planet. It was bound to happen, it always did. Whenever someone got a little too big for their boots, someone else came along to knock them down a few notches. Or a lot, depending on how ruthless the successors were.

Not wanting to think about everything she had done to survive, Ladybug instead focused on the future. If this government really had a way to stabilise France again, life could slowly return to normal again. Her parents could reopen their bakery and she could ditch the Ladybug moniker once and for all. When that happened, she would rejoice, for she had survived.

When her parents had first made the decision to go into hiding, Ladybug was still Marinette to everyone around her. She was the clumsy, funny, creative young designer who smiled too brightly and too much, if that was even possible. Now, she was a whisper among the powerful, a ghost on the lips of people who had enemies. She had become Ladybug, the ruthless killer that didn’t stop to think about the people who suffered by her hand. A job was a job, and living between contracts was the only thing keeping her sane.

She hadn’t smiled in what felt like forever. How long had it been? Her last memory of a genuine smile was months ago, probably longer. It was a fading memory, a thought blurring at the edges and drifting towards being forgotten.

Hopefully, the times of survival and the Power Shift ended before the memories disappeared. At the start, everyone thought it was just a political scuffle that would be solved quickly, until it all spiralled out of control and spread throughout the world. Everything escalated until the world was in ruins and people were fighting to survive.

“Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

“Tell Mister Agreste I want my payment tomorrow morning before we leave.”

“I will deliver your message.” Without another word from either of them, the assistant disappeared, leaving Ladybug alone in her gaudy prison with the files weighing in her hands.

Alone again. There was a clock ticking somewhere in the background, but it was probably bolted into the wall, too. It would probably be better if she just guessed how much time had passed, much like she had spent most of the last few months doing. If she could just distract herself from the present, it would pass her by and the morning would come sooner.

Maybe the file would be a good distraction, if she could lose herself in planning their trip time might fly by.

Opening the file revealed the first flaw in her plan. Massive amounts of text were blacked out, creating blocks on the page with only a little bit of information in between. Even the name of their destination was redacted, the only information about the place was a printed map with a circle on it, a scrawled address that was beginning to smudge, and a grainy photograph of a building.

This was already turning out to be harder than Ladybug had originally thought. The building was unrecognisable, especially with the low quality photograph. If this was so important to them, why did all the information seem like it was thrown together haphazardly, not caring about whether it was useful or not.

On top of that, there were entire pages missing or out of order. Paragraphs and paragraphs were blocked out, then an entire page was missing. If there was something that needed to be hid that badly, couldn’t they have just given her what she was allowed to know?

Deciding the best way to organise everything was to order the pages properly, Ladybug emptied the entire folder onto the ground. Sitting in the middle of the pages, she began to sort everything into a system she could use.

The pages that were completely blacked out went behind her, ignored, while everything else was laid out in page order. When she was done, nearly half the pages were gone and the few sentences on each page in front of her. Despite having the map and the image, the information was fairly scarce.

Just as she had finished placing everything back into the file for reading later, the door unlocked. Ladybug was on her feet in seconds, ready to fight whoever was behind the door, regardless of her odds.

Gabriel Agreste looked down at Ladybug, a servant standing behind him with a covered tray. “My assistant said you wished to speak to me about payment.”

“I want my payment before we leave tomorrow morning. My rate is however much you think your son is worth.” Ladybug picked the blacked out papers up, throwing them back at Gabriel. “I would also like some more information, otherwise I cannot guarantee the safety of your son.”

“Your payment is your life and the safety of your family. You do not get to make demands, or you will suffer severe consequences. A small amount of money will be provided tomorrow in order to pay for hired help on the trip, nothing more. The information you already have should be enough, considering your reputation, any other complaints will be ignored.”

Was he threatening her? How dare he! He had come to her for help, not the other way around. Ladybug was sick of Gabriel Agreste already and she had only interacted with him twice. If Adrien was anything like his father, she would definitely reach breaking point before the job was completed.

Apparently finished his speech, Gabriel turned and left the room. Ladybug watched his exit with a scowl, bidding good riddance to bad rubbish. Once he was well and truly gone, Ladybug turned her attention back to the woman still standing in the door, holding her dinner. “You can put that wherever, I’m not exactly hungry.”

“Mayor Bourgeois has ordered that you must eat. The Council wants you to be ready to leave almost as soon as the sun rises, and you will need strength. I will return in an hour to collect everything.” The lady placed the tray on a short table before bowing and almost running out of the room. Before Ladybug could react, the door had closed and locked again, trapping her once more.

She didn’t want to eat, but the last time she had been anywhere near decent food was nearly three days ago. Since then, she had been living on cheap cans of anything she could get her hands on, and none of it tasted particularly good. This was a much needed reprieve, even though it was sent by the people who had kidnapped her and were threatening her parents.

Once Ladybug started eating, it was like she couldn’t stop. Until now, she hadn’t realised just how hungry she actually was. Everything on the plates was gone in under ten minutes.

The food was gone and there was still a large span of time before the plates were collected. It would be perfect to absorb the rest of the information before she went to sleep.

Memorising large amounts of information quickly was a skill she had learned during the Power Shift, when she was given everything she needed to know about a target and only a few minutes before she was dropped at a location. Forgetting who she was being paid to assassinate was a rookie mistake, and one she had only made once before swearing to never make it again.

By the time her plates were collected, Ladybug had read everything several times and had memorised everything word for word. She could recite everything she had learned back, and had stared at the map so long it had practically photocopied into her mind.

When Ladybug decided to go to bed, she found there was a set of plain black pyjamas sitting on the bathroom sink, in her size. Ignoring the feeling in her gut, Ladybug got changed and headed back towards the bed. She was about to climb into the bed when there was a knock at the door.

Finding it peculiar, she crept towards the door and threw the panel open, coming face to face with Adrien Agreste. “What are you doing here?!”

“I wanted to speak to you before we left tomorrow. You’ve probably got questions, and I can answer some of them. Can I come in?”


	3. Information

Knowing that someone could see him if Adrien stood in the hallway any longer, Ladybug stepped back from the door. “Come in, quickly.”

Without waiting another second, Adrien unlocked the door from his side and stepped inside. “Thank you.”

Questions bounced around in Ladybug’s head, some that had been on the back of her mind for hours. But in reality, how many answers would Adrien actually have? He wasn’t in a position of power, he was just the son of one of the new leaders of their country, he didn’t make choices or order people around like his father. Hopefully that pattern continued.

“Ask away, I can tell you have questions.” Adrien moved around the room, sitting in the armchair in the corner. “I’ll answer as many as I can.”

Taking a seat on the bed, Ladybug organised her thoughts. “Why me?”

Not even half a second passed before Adrien was giving her an answer. “Your reputation has made quite an impression on my father and his colleagues. The fact that you weren’t an assassin a few months ago and now you are seems to have impressed them.”

“I did what I had to do to survive and keep my family safe.” She didn’t want to give him too much information, paranoid that it would be used against her later. If too many people knew she would go to such extreme lengths for her parents, they might use her family against her.

“Are your parents happy about what you do for them?”

Ladybug looked at Adrien, trying to work out if he was actually serious. “Would your father be proud of you if you turned into an assassin? They don’t want me to do this, they never did, but I’m in too deep now.”

Looking around the room again, Adrien let his eyes linger on the blacked out pages scattered across the floor. He knew that she wouldn’t be told everything, but even that level of censorship seemed ridiculous. How was she supposed to do her job if she had to make choices completely in the dark? “How much of the file was censored?”

“Most of it. The only things I have about our destination are a picture of a building, a smudged address and a local map that doesn’t really show much. Nearly everything else was blacked out.” Deciding Adrien was somewhat trustworthy, Ladybug grabbed the file folder and held it out to Adrien. When he took it, she sat on the bed, waiting to see his reaction.

“This is barely anything, how are you supposed to work properly without knowing anything?” Adrien closed the file and returned it to Ladybug. Knowing he was probably being rash, he stood up began pacing the room. He was going to get the rest of the file for her, no censoring to cover anything up.

“Are you going to leave? I have more questions.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

“There isn’t much to tell you about me. I’m not the same person I was before the Power Shift, and most of my personality is centred around my work. I don’t let it spill over into anything else.” That was true, but not as true as it could have been. Standing up and pacing again, Ladybug ignored the memories creeping back in.

At the start, after her first job, she had cried for days. Guilt had overtaken her life for weeks, sympathy for someone she had never met and would never see again. But she had taken their life, watched as the soul drained from their eyes and left. And she did it for money, nothing else.

How much money was she worth? How much money would it take to justify all the death, all the destruction, all the sadness and hurt she had caused? She told herself that it was for survival but if there was another option, would she take it?

“Then tell me what you were like before everything started.” Adrien stood up and walked over to Ladybug, holding her shoulders gently. “You can trust me, I promise. I don’t want our trip to be awkward.”

“My parents ran a bakery and I wanted to be a fashion designer. I went to Francois Dupont high school and there were only a few days before I started a new year. I listened to Jagged Stone music and helped my parents bake. I would do anything to go back to that life, and if helping your father is what it takes, I’ll do it.” How did Adrien feel so familiar, like she could tell him anything. It was dangerous.

“I was supposed to start at that school, too. My father had finally agreed to let me go to school after Chloe had asked him for months, and then the apocalypse started and everything went crazy.” 

There were footsteps down the hallway. Someone was coming. “You have to go before you get caught. I can hear footsteps.”

“Wait, you might need this first.” Taking Ladybug’s hand and pressing a cold metal object into it, Adrien walked over to the door. “I’m sure you want your freedom, and this is the room ‘esteemed prisoners’ are kept in. Goodbye, Ladybug.”

And then he was gone, the door shutting and locking behind him. Ladybug waited, listening closely to hear any voices, any sign that Adrien was caught leaving her room. There was nothing, so she looked at the object Adrien had given her. A key.

She was sure it was the key to her room, so she could come and go as she pleased, as long as she wasn’t caught. Adrien had returned a small part of her freedom with a simple action, but how long would she be able to use it? They were leaving tomorrow and hopefully everything would return to normal after that. The key was a nice sentiment, but would ultimately be useless.

However, now was not the time to think about it. They left at dawn, so Ladybug placed the key on the table bolted into the ground and crawled into the bed, fighting against the sheets that seemed stuck in place. This really was a prison. No amount of decorations or fancy fabrics could hide that.

The next morning came quickly, and Ladybug was awake before a servant walked in to wake her. She was used to early mornings, often finishing jobs before the sun peaked over the horizon. Today was no different. If they wanted to reach their location in time, Adrien and herself would have to leave as soon as they possibly could.

She was escorted to a dining room on the other side of the building and left alone, again. Luckily, Adrien had walked in moments later, smiling brightly at her. He had been so serious yesterday, last night, now he looked as if he had the support of the world behind him. How had he changed so much, and so quickly?

Just as they were about to start a conversation, Gabriel had barged into the room, forcing them apart. He sent Adrien into the kitchen to retrieve his food, while he cornered Ladybug. Once Adrien had left, he handed her another folder, not letting her open it. “This is the final information you will need, Adrien knows what must be done when you reach your location. After your job is complete, return here to discuss the terms of your employment.”

Employment? Had Gabriel Agreste not gotten the memo that once this was done and the world was stable again, she would be returning to normal life? She wasn’t going to work for him if he was the most powerful person in the world! The only thing keeping Ladybug here was the fact that her parents were being threatened, and she had already done too much to protect them. That couldn’t be wasted.

Checking through the file quickly after Gabriel had left, Ladybug found a more general map of France and a small envelope of money. Knowing that it probably wouldn’t be used by travelling, Ladybug slipped it between papers. That would be her payment, whether Gabriel meant it to be that way or not. His wishes could be damned, she was the one protecting his son, she was in charge.

Glancing back out the doors, Ladybug saw bags being carried towards the main entrance. A lot of bags. Too many to be carried by two people. Either her employers didn’t understand that or they weren’t all for their trip, but something wasn’t right.

Ignoring the rest of her breakfast, Ladybug followed the bags to see everything being loaded into a black van. The windows were tinted so dark they were black and everything about it screamed government. Anyone who saw it would attack it, the only less obvious way to travel would be with sirens announcing who they were.

“This isn’t going to work.” Everyone turned to Ladybug as she stood in the doorframe. “We’ll get attacked in that.”

“It’s bulletproof. Impenetrable. No one will be able to get in and the journey will be over in no time. That’s what you wanted, correct?” Gabriel seemed to have a talent for appearing at the worst time. He also seemed to have a talent for being a pompous conceited jerk.

“I don’t care how bulletproof your moving target is, it will give us away. We need to travel on foot or risk being killed within a few hours.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply when a loud shriek echoed around the room. “Adri-kins!”

Ladybug didn’t even know Adrien was in the room, but watched as Chloe Bourgeois launched herself through the air and into Adrien’s arms. Or rather, onto Adrien. They crashed onto the floor and Chloe locked her arms around Adrien’s neck. 

“You can’t just leave me like this! I’ll miss you!”

Awkwardly, Adrien shifted Chloe and himself to be sitting, before pulling Chloe back to her feet. “I’ll miss you to, Chlo-Chlo, but this has to happen. For everyone.”

Despite all of Adrien’s reassurances, Chloe didn’t seem to be any happier. She scanned the room, her eyes finally falling on Ladybug. Chloe marched over to her, ready to take her anger out on anyone she could. “You’re the person they trusted with the safety of my Adri-kins?! Ridiculous!”

“I know what I’m doing and I can do my job. Do not question my abilities.” Chloe was even more annoying than Ladybug last remembered. Thankfully, she had changed in the months since they had last seen each other and Chloe didn’t recognise her. If she connected the dots between Ladybug now and Marinette in the past, she would be even more insufferable.

Chloe flicked her hair and sashayed even closer to Ladybug, examining her nails instead of looking into her eyes. “Adrien should ride in the front of the van, otherwise we’re going to have problems, Ladybug.”

“We aren’t taking the van, regardless of what you think.” Every second that she was in Chloe’s presence was a second Ladybug was losing somewhere else in the day. Between the delays she still had to deal with and Gabriel Agreste trying to make everything difficult for her, this day was already taking a nosedive.

With a screech, Chloe launched herself at Ladybug, giving her only a few seconds to act. Her temper was boiling and her blood was bubbling through her veins. Anger blurred her thoughts momentarily, blocking her logic.

She saw this going one of two ways. She could either grab Chloe’s wrists and hold her far enough away that neither of them could get hurt, or she could do what she wished she could have done months ago and punch Chloe in the nose. She somewhat deserved it, after all, for everything she had done before the Power Shift. Didn’t she?


	4. Departure

Ladybug grabbed Chloe by the wrists and held her away from her body. Chloe struggled, screaming unintelligible phrases while she kicked at Ladybug.

The guards around them barely moved, reaching slightly for their guns. Adrien, on the other hand, lunged after Chloe, wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her backwards out of the fight she was about to create. Adrien hugged her and he walked backwards, whispering in her ear.

Apparently, Chloe didn’t like what she was hearing. “She should respect you more! We are the next leaders of France, and she thinks you should walk? Unacceptable!”

“Chloe, she’s the expert in these kinds of situations, I trust her with my life. Everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to, and I understand why she doesn’t want to take the car. This is partly my choice, too.” Adrien was speaking louder now and he glanced up at Ladybug a few times, almost like he was speaking to her as well. Their late night conversation definitely made it easier on her, as Adrien seemed to want to stick up for Ladybug now. She would take it.

Pouting, Chloe pulled away from Adrien and ran towards her father. “Daddy, why does she get to order Adrien around? Who is she?”

Mayor Bourgeois looked tired, as if he wished it was his daughter going with Ladybug instead of Adrien. From all the experiences Ladybug had with Chloe before the Power Shift, and then her behaviour now, Ladybug was very glad that she was travelling with Adrien. She wouldn’t last an entire journey with Chloe whining about the walking and the conditions they would have to deal with.

That would really make Ladybug wish she had never been ‘hired’. Adrien really was the better option, and Ladybug was starting to see that more and more. If they did get closer, maybe she would miss him after everything was finished and she was back in her normal life.

Would Gabriel ever let him back into the normal world again after all the dangers they would undoubtedly face? If he was already so protective about his son now, could it possibly get worse?

By the time Chloe had finally left the room, Ladybug could feel a headache developing and just wanted to be on the road, surrounded by the near silence an apocalypse would bring. It was much easier to deal with people that wanted to kill you for supplies than to deal with spoiled brats that wanted you to bend to their will and do their bidding.

“The supplies have been repacked and it is time to leave. Do not forget to keep your end of our bargain, Ladybug.” Gabriel directed Ladybug and Adrien to the door as servants lifted their bags. When Ladybug’s bag was dropped into her arms, she thought she was about to sag forwards. Judging by Adrien’s reaction to his bag, hers was definitely the heaviest.

While no one was watching, Ladybug slipped the file from breakfast into the bag and took the folded pages from her pocket, dropping them in, too. Once Ladybug had her bag strapped onto her back, she noticed there was a third bag, while there was only two of them. “Why is there another bag? We can only carry one each.”

Gabriel’s assistant walked over, followed by a girl Ladybug’s age. She was wearing a red and orange flannel shirt and ripped blue jeans. There were a few details about her appearance that hinted at her not having to fight for survival, but they could be hidden or changed if they needed to be. “This is Alya Cesaire, she will be accompanying you instead of the driver you would have been taking.”

Alya shouldered the final bag with a nod. Was she usually like this or was it a result of working with Gabriel’s assistant. That woman didn’t seem to be a sentient human for half of the time, rather acting as a mouthpiece for Gabriel himself.

There was nothing left to do except leave. Chloe had already been dragged out of the room crying, and no one else seemed to want to say goodbye. Not even Gabriel was making any moves to bid his son farewell for however long he would be gone. He seemed like a distant father at best, downright neglectful at worst. Ladybug felt slightly sorry for Adrien, but knew there was nothing she could do to change it; Gabriel was too set in his ways.

Chloe on the other hand, had been crying as if this was the end of the world. It was two ends of the spectrum and Ladybug was ready to get out of there, and quickly.

When they stepped out the main doors, the car was gone and there were guards standing at the main gates. After that, the trio was on their own with only Ladybug’s experience to guide them. The maps and files wouldn’t be much help if they were in danger, though they were tucked into Ladybug’s bags nonetheless. The location of the building they were looking for was somewhere Ladybug hadn’t been, so the maps weren’t completely useless.

The gates slammed shut behind them and speedbumps passed. Only a few hundred more metres before Ladybug could take over and go in the direction she wanted to. There had been a few maps in the new file with directions drawn in, but they weren’t exactly good directions. One of the suggested routes even took them through the middle of a gang war that had been occurring for around a month, something that showed the mapmaker’s lack of worldly knowledge.

Things were always changing now, some of the roads on the map didn’t even exist anymore. When chaos first took over, people took to destroying buildings, roads and statues. If anyone had access to any kind of equipment that could be used for destruction, it was put to good use almost immediately.

“We’re heading south, from the maps I saw there’s a building in Toulouse in near perfect condition. That’s our destination. Any objections?”

“How long will we be walking for? We only have three bags of supplies. They’ll run out eventually and we can’t go back for more.” After hearing Alya’s question, Ladybug sighed. Was this just a normal question or was she already questioning her?

“How far can you walk in a day?” Even though they were supposed to turn left at the end of the street, Ladybug turned right. If they could cover enough distance today, they would have less to worry about later on.

In total, the trip from Paris to Toulouse was nearly six hundred and sixty kilometres, not accounting for any detours. At best, it would take over a hundred and thirty six hours to walk, but no one could walk for five and a half days straight. If they walked eight hours each day, it would take over two weeks to arrive. That was assuming Adrien and Alya could travel the same distance she could every day.

Fortunately, it seemed that Adrien and Alya wanted to prove they could keep up. After Alya had questioned her further on their change of direction but Ladybug couldn’t be bothered to explain her actions. The sooner this was over, the better.

After nearly a full day of walking, Ladybug decided it was time to scout somewhere to sleep for the night. They would have to begin travelling again early in the morning and continue the pace for the rest of the travelling. A good, somewhat secure building would be the ideal place to stay overnight, preferably somewhere with multiple floors.

Another hour passed and Ladybug couldn’t see a single suitable building. Either all the windows were smashed in with glass littering the floor or the door was off its hinges. A lot of buildings were missing chunks of walls or completely turned to rubble. Regardless, none of them would provide the safety they needed.

Finally, when the sun was slowly slipping behind the horizon the perfect building came into view. It was three stories, with almost every window on the top floor intact. The door was in place and looked sturdy enough. If nothing went wrong, it would be their residence for the night.

The paint was chipping in places around the bottom floor, with small chunks of the wall missing. Something had happened here, but sometimes it was better to not pry. Silence and operating on a need to know basis seemed to be a big part of life now.

As they got closer to the building, Ladybug knew there was something wrong. She had the gut feeling she had been relying on to tell her when danger was near, and that wasn’t something you doubted when you could be killed so easily.

“Wait,” Ladybug whispered, holding up her hand, “something is off.”

That’s when she heard it. Voices floated out of the building and onto the street. There were already people inside, and by the amount of noise, a lot of them. Getting closer, Ladybug focused on their words, trying to work out whether they were violent or not.

Words became clearer and clearer the closer Ladybug drew to the building. Within seconds, she decided she had heard enough and scrambled backwards, not wanting to be closer than she had to be. Returning to Alya and Adrien, she shook her head. “They’re violent and there’s a lot of people. From their conversation, they’re in some kind of gang and just got back from ‘tying up some loose ends’. We’re outnumbered.”

Adrien looked sick. Apparently, the mention of death was making him queasy, even though he was standing in front of an assassin for hire and had a father that threatened or murdered whoever he needed to. She could attest to that.

“We can fight them, I was given a gun to protect Adrien from any and all threats. Aren’t you supposed to kill people for a living?” Alya reached into her pocket and revealed a sleek, black gun. It wasn’t like the guns Ladybug had seen around the streets, meaning it was some kind of government weapon that no one else had access to. How had they gotten their hands on these in such a short amount of time if they weren’t getting help from somewhere else?

Ladybug glared at Alya. “It’s a battle we can’t win, we’ll all be killed before you can even fire that thing. Do you even know how to use a gun?”

“I don’t need to know, this is the latest technology available. It will do everything for me.”

“You’re more of a danger to us than to them!” Ladybug nearly shouted, before remembering how close to the gang they were. Any amount of sound could alert them and then a world of hurt would be on the way. Gangs didn’t take kindly to people trespassing on the land they claimed as theirs, but this was the fastest way through the city. Ladybug had been willing to take the risk, knowing what could happen if something went wrong.

“Alya, please put the gun away. I don’t want to fight anyone, anyway, and you’re the only one with a gun. I’m unprotected and then everything will be for nothing. I trust Ladybug.” Adrien stepped into the situation again, just like he had with Chloe this morning. Ladybug was slowly becoming more grateful for Adrien every time he helped her.

“Then what are we going to do? Sneak past them?”

“Give me a few moments to think, please.”


	5. Run

“We’ll have to sneak past. My family is on the line here, too, not just us, and I don’t want to risk them. If you want to walk into a fight you’ll never be able to win, then go right ahead!” Alya seemed to want to fight the first person she could, so who was Ladybug to stand in her way?

Alya glowered, not liking that she was being told what to do. “I have a family, too, you’re not the only one! I just have to do my job and keep them safe, too. I only work for Mayor Bourgeois because Ella and Etta are too young, Nora can’t get back into the country and I haven’t heard from her since the start of everything and both of my parents are dead!”

Reeling, Ladybug stepped backwards. Her eyes widened and she felt dread creep up her spine. She couldn’t imagine what she would be like if her parents were dead. They were the only thing she had left in the world, aside from a small flicker of hope that everything could go back to normal. But Alya had lost her parents, and she had to look after her siblings.

Realising the sun had disappeared even further, Ladybug glanced around the building. Supplies were stacked up in front of the building, a clear message about the power of the gang inside. Anyone stupid enough to steal supplies would suffer greatly. As much as the extra supplies would help, they couldn’t risk it.

“The door is closed, and if we stay under the window line we can pass them without any trouble. Don’t make any noise.” Ladybug started walking back towards the window. The second before she would be in sight, she dropped to the ground. Turning her head, Ladybug gestured for Adrien and Alya to follow her.

As they crawled past the windows, the tension grew each second until it was nearly as crushing as the silence in the government building had been. Luckily, the edge of the building was only a few feet away and then they would be in the clear. If no one looked out the window, nothing else could go wrong.

Giving her surroundings another glance, Ladybug decided they were far enough from the building to be safe. She stood up and rolled her shoulders, readjusting her bag. “We should be fine now. As long as no one saw us, we can keep going and find another building.”

Ladybug checked Adrien, running her eyes over him until she was sure he wasn’t injured. Giving Alya a fleeting glance, she noticed the bag of rice in her hand. Alya hadn’t been holding that five minutes ago.

A bullet whizzed past Ladybug’s head, confirming her suspicions. Alya had stolen those from the gang, and they knew. More bullets flew past them, some barely missing their arms and legs while others buried themselves in the ground around them. There was no time to stand around. Ladybug grabbed Adrien’s arm and turned away, dragging him behind her. “Run!” 

They sprinted off as more bullets followed. A group seemed to be pouring out of the building, with more shouting echoing through the closed streets behind them. 

Turning a corner, Ladybug chanced a glance to see a large group following her, most of which with guns, the rest with some kind of weapon. When Ladybug said they were violent, she underestimated them by a long shot. She was sure that they would be dead if any of the gang caught up to them. They had to hide somewhere, anywhere that would obscure them from view. The situation was getting desperate.

Another building passed, this one a little more rundown than the first, but still a good place to hide. Even just a temporary place would be good, as they would have to keep moving after the gang had passed. The sooner they were out of claimed territory, the better. If only Alya hadn’t stolen from them, then their lives wouldn’t be in danger because of a single bag of rice.

“In here!” Ladybug grabbed Adrien again and hauled him through the door. They dove to the ground, hiding behind the windowsill. Alya followed suit and all three of them held their breath, waiting in silence for anything to happen.

Hopefully, this was a good enough place to hide. From the street they wouldn’t be visible, but if the buildings were searched they were doomed.

After nearly an hour of waiting, the sky was completely dark and there had been eighteen cars drive past, as well as countless footsteps. Each one made Ladybug more tense, waiting for someone to discover them. She had so much to lose, they all did, but it all could come crashing down so easily.

Everything had been silent for a while and Ladybug finally let out the breath she had been holding the entire time. They had escaped with their lives! “We have to move.”

Alya didn’t question her decision this time.

Sneaking around Paris in the apocalypse was always worse after the sun went down. Ladybug preferred to finish any jobs she took in the early morning light, just as people were waking up. That way, there were less nasty surprises. Unfortunately, that was a lesson Ladybug had learned the hard way.

“We’ll have to get out of Paris tonight, so we won’t be getting much sleep tonight. However, it’s better to be at a far enough distance that we don’t get found than stay here and have someone to keep watch.” Her back ached from carrying the heavy bag all day but they had no choice but to keep moving. When they found a place to stay for the night she could work something out.

Once they were out of Paris, everyone breathed a little easier. Alya was still clutching the stolen bag of rice like it was made of gold. Even if it wasn’t gold, it nearly cost them their lives. That was worth something, right?

Shortly after passing the outskirts, the trio stumbled across a small cottage tucked away in a crooked side street. The closer they got, they realised that it was much larger than they originally thought. It wasn’t a cottage at all, rather it was a multistorey house with barred windows and ramshackle walls that looked both fragile and about to fall apart, while also sturdy and dependable. Just what they needed for the night, provided there wasn’t anyone already inside.

“I’m going to scout everything out, stay here and don’t touch anything.” The last part was definitely aimed at Alya, though Ladybug hadn’t quite intended for it to sound so rude. They were all in the same boat, and being a jerk wasn’t going to make the trip any more pleasant. Dropping her bag with Alya and Adrien, Ladybug scanned her eyes over the walls of the building before she moved.

Sprinting at the wall, Ladybug grabbed the top of the boards on the lowest windows, hauling herself up so she was balanced precariously on the plank. From there, she grabbed the small windowsill above her head and jumped, swinging her legs underneath her so she could walk vertically up the wall. The next windows were covered in railings, making it easier to wrap her hands around them.

When Ladybug got herself into a comfortable enough position, she looked through the bars and into the room. If someone was inside, there would be some kind of life, but when her eyes adjusted, Ladybug found the exact opposite. 

Lying in the centre of the room was a small skeleton with an ornate jewellery box shattered next to it. There was no way to tell what had happened from her vantage point, but nothing else in the room seemed damaged. Whoever had shattered the jewellery box hadn’t just been raiding, they had been looking for something specific. 

It was too late in the night to be thinking of such conspiracies. The building looked safe enough, so it was just a matter of getting inside. There had to be another way into the building, as the front door looked barricaded and had no visible signs of a forced entry. Every window was either blocked or barred, which only left the roof. Of course, anyone who knew what they were doing would have entered and exited through the roof when they looted buildings.

Scaling the rest of the building with relative ease, Ladybug saw what she had been hoping to find. A large crate sat on top of the roof, clearly out of place. The looters would have left it behind to deter anyone from using their entry point. Ladybug rolled her eyes. Small actions like this were pointless but everywhere. Maybe it was a power display, stating clearly that they didn’t have to worry about being found or caught, and could perform useless tasks that didn’t have any positive results. Unbelievable.

A few harsh kicks had the crate moved enough for Ladybug to drop through the opening in the roof. She landed on the third floor in a fighting stance, not taking any chances. Sure, the only occupant of the building she had seen so far was dead, but better safe than sorry. The same reason she had kept moving after the run in with the gang in Paris. Gambling with your life often ended badly.

Jogging down the stairs, Ladybug ran through the ways she could get rid of the skeleton. Every single bone seemed to be in the same place, all two hundred and six of them. There were too many to move by hand, and there didn’t seem to be anything nearby that could sweep them to the side. She could always cover it, but Adrien and Alya might ask questions or discover it accidentally. Maybe if she told them not to move anything, it would work, making that her best option. Grabbing a large, dirty sheet from the corner of the room, Ladybug threw it out and over the skeleton. 

Now she just had to let Adrien and Alya inside. The last flight of the stairs seemed to be less safe than the previous one, but not to the point of danger. They just squeaked a bit, probably an early waring system. Ladybug rolled her eyes sardonically, thinking to herself, ‘Their early warning system really helped, huh?’

The door had been boarded up in a similar fashion to the low windows. Grabbing the board right in front of her eyes, Ladybug put all of her strength into it and pulled, leaning back to use her body weight as well. Each board eventually gave way and Ladybug repeated the process until the door was clear. She clicked each deadbolt lock open and twisted the handle, revealing the outside world again. “Come in, everything is clear.”

Alya and Adrien were inside in seconds, looking slightly skittish. Ladybug locked every lock behind them, not wanting anyone or anything to come inside after them. It was already bad enough there was a skeleton upstairs.

“Are you okay?”

“I think I heard something outside. I don’t know whether it was footsteps or not, but I’m glad you unlocked the door when you did.”

Knowing she had to check the threat out, Ladybug held her open palm out to Alya. “Give me the gun, I’ll make sure everything is safe.”

Reluctantly, Alya handed the weapon and Ladybug rolled her hand around, getting a feel for the gun and its weight. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to use it. This wasn’t something she was used to, a high tech gun that shot for you wasn’t exactly easy to get your hands on, even if you did work for the government. How had the new government gotten everything so quickly?

Ladybug peered out the window and checked for any obvious threats. She couldn’t see anything, maybe she wouldn’t have to go outside after all. Better safe than sorry, though, right?


	6. Noises Outside

As she was slowly unlocking each deadbolt, Ladybug realised that she didn’t have a torch. She wouldn’t be able to see anything outside, leaving her open to any kind of attacks if whatever was outside was sneaky enough.

As Ladybug turned around, she tried to remember if there was a torch anywhere upstairs. While there might be one in the bags Gabriel had sent them with, relying so much on the new government when everything was so precarious. It would also take time to search every bag they had and this was time sensitive. Anything could be outside, and whatever had made the noises Alya and Adrien heard could be getting closer every second. 

Adrien gently tapped Ladybug on her shoulder. When she turned to look at him, he held out the small flashlight. “Will this help? My father gave it to me before we left.”

Ladybug took the flashlight, rolling it across her palm. “Thank you, I didn’t think I could search the bags myself.”

Something banged outside loudly and Ladybug and Adrien jumped. Without thinking, Ladybug turned to the door and aimed her gun in a single move, ready to protect Adrien. That was her job, after all. Not wanting to wait any longer, Ladybug moved to the door and unlocked the last deadbolts, preparing to throw it open and face whoever or whatever was outside.

“Stay safe.” Alya was standing against the wall, nearly crouching. Her bag was open in front of her with a few items falling over the sides and onto the floor. Was she searching for something or was she just looking through her supplies?

“If I don’t come back in fifteen minutes, assume I’m dead. Continue without me. The maps you’ll need are in my bag and you’ll have enough supplies to last longer without me.” When she caught Adrien’s eye, he looked concerned, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She threw the door open and barged outside, flicking her torch on and scanning it over the area. Nothing. Suspicious.

Metal clattered against the paved footpath and Ladybug turned again, beginning to shake. The sounds were moving around her so far she could barely keep up. “Who’s there?”

Something brushed against her legs. Something small, something fast. Ladybug stumbled, shocked and slowly becoming more afraid the longer she was outside. Would it be better if she went back inside? 

No, they had been able to hear the crashing and banging inside. She had to find out what was causing the noise now, or they wouldn’t be able to sleep until it had moved on. Unless it wanted their building. Just as Ladybug was about to return inside and block the doors, another crash sounded from just in front of her. A couple of old, rusted metal garbage bins had been pushed over and were slowly rolling across the ground. 

Ladybug scanned the torch over the bins, only now taking notice of how bright it was. The more she moved the torch and its concentrated beam, noise slowly grew from inside one of the bins. It sounded like hissing, but what would be hissing at her this late at night?

Slowly stepping closer, Ladybug bent down slightly and looked into the bin. A small pile of black fur was crouched at the back, hissing defensively. When Ladybug managed to get a closer look at it, she realised that she was looking at a small kitten. It was too small to be independent, but there didn’t seem to be another cat nearby. In fact, this was one of the first animals Ladybug had seen on the streets since the Power Shift began. People jumped to desperate measures very quickly.

“Hey, kitty I won’t hurt you.” Ladybug held out her hand, whispering to the kitten. If she could get it to trust her, then the cat could come inside and the noises could stop. Plus, having a pet to keep her company would be a good thing; she wouldn’t be alone as much when she was between jobs and seeing her family. Even though that wouldn’t happen as much now.

The kitten hesitantly walked over to Ladybug, sniffing her hand and giving her judgemental looks. After a few moments, Ladybug was deemed trustworthy and the tiny cat rubbed its head against Ladybug’s palm. Ladybug scooped the kitten up and walked back to the door. She knocked twice before the deadbolts inside began to click open, revealing Adrien standing inside. “A kitten?”

“This is what made all the noises you heard.” Holding the kitten up, Ladybug couldn’t help but notice Alya’s slight eyeroll.

“How did such a small cat create footsteps? It’s too small to do anything that big. There must be something else outside. Give me the gun and I’ll investigate it myself.”

And Ladybug thought they had been making progress too. Not even ten minutes ago, Alya had told he to be safe. What had happened in that time? “We’re in a bit of an alleyway, everything echoes. It was just a kitten, nothing else. Once the doors are locked we’ll be completely safe, I promise.”

That wasn’t really something Ladybug could promise, but empty words or comfort were always appreciated in unsure situations. If Adrien believed she could keep him safe, it would make everything easier in the long run. Checking outside was a good idea.

The kitten began to squirm in Ladybug’s hands, ready to be let down and allowed to explore. Obliging, Ladybug set the kitten on the ground and watched as it ran towards the stairs and disappeared onto the floor above. Hopefully it wouldn’t disturb the skeleton. Come to think of it, Ladybug still hadn’t mentioned that to Alya and Adrien, they had all been too busy with the strange noises outside.

“Before we go to bed, we need to look through our supplies. The best time to steal anything we need is in the early morning when no one else is awake to catch us. We don’t want another repeat of what happened today.” Another low blow, but Ladybug was still mad at Alya and her stupid choices. It still seemed like Alya would do something else that was reckless or dangerous, and Ladybug already knew that she had to put some preventative measures in place to make sure both she and Adrien made it to Toulouse. Even if that meant a bit of lying. Her family came first, always.

“Fine.” Alya kicked her bag and the loose contents across the floor. It all slid to a stop in front of Ladybug’s feet, toppling over a little more. It had been scratched through even more while Ladybug was outside. “But I’m not sitting around waiting for you to make all the decisions that need to be made.”

Before Ladybug could warn Alya about the covered skeleton on the second floor or the hole in the roof on the third, she was gone. After a few seconds of waiting, Ladybug decided that Alya wasn’t coming back downstairs for long enough that she could repack the bags with time to spare. There was a voice in the back of her head that was telling her that Alya would probably make a run for it the first chance she got, probably tempted by the supplies she had been given.

Adrien crouched down next to Ladybug, looking at the supplies she was pulling out of Alya’s bag. “Can I help?”

“We need to sort everything into categories so we can repack the bags with a better system. Once we know what we have and what will run out the fastest, we can plan from there.” Finally reaching the bottom of the first bag, Ladybug pulled the sleeping bag from its straps and tossed the bag to the side while grabbing the next bag. From the weight, she could tell it was Adrien’s. When she unzipped it, she wasn’t surprised to see very few things of actual value. Mostly heavy blankets, thick plastic and flimsy looking tent material. On top of that, everything was packed loosely, not allowing the bag to get any heavier.

It only took a few seconds for the bag to be emptied, with the material folded tightly away from everything else. The last bag to unpack was her own, and it was mostly filled with bottles of water and non-perishable food. The amount of cans and bottles that ended up covering the floor barely even shocked Ladybug. Her back was starting to hurt again, something she had been blocking out for hours. Redistributing the weight in the bags would help reduce the pain in the future, but it was troublesome for how far they had to travel.

Standing up and looking over everything they had, Ladybug began to mentally sort everything into the bags. She and Adrien could carry the water and most of the food, with Alya carrying the blankets, plastic and tent. More bullets for the gun could go into Ladybug’s bag with the maps and money, Adrien could carry the first aid equipment and the various survival tools like lighters, with the rest of their supplies going into Alya’s bag. If she ran off with a fairly useless tent it wouldn’t matter, but running out of bullets could leave them in a life or death situation without any means of defending themselves.

Ladybug repacked the bags quickly and pushed them aside, hiding them behind a cupboard. No one else was going to be inside the building, but it would mean Alya couldn’t make a quick getaway in the middle of the night without looking for the bags.

“We should go to sleep. If you see Alya, give her this.” Adrien deftly caught both of the sleeping bags Ladybug had tossed in his direction and nodded, acknowledging her request. He turned and walked up the stairs while Ladybug rolled her own sleeping bag out. While it seemed thin when it was rolled up, it seemed to have padding along the bottom of the fabric, a smart alternative to carry mattresses of any kind around.

It wasn’t until she had set her sleeping bag on the ground and crawled into it did she realise that none of them had eaten anything all day. Before she could mull it over any longer, Ladybug felt her eyelids drop and was drawn into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning Ladybug was awoken by banging downstairs and a loud meowing in front of her face. Gently moving the cat to the floor next to her, Ladybug reached for the gun. She had left it downstairs. Cursing herself, she moved quietly towards the noise. 

Adrien was also awake and following her, with Alya missing from her sleeping bag already. They found each other in the stairs, watching as a few members of the gang moved clockwise around the room, searching everything. The door was completely off its hinges and lying on the ground outside. How hadn’t they heard that?

“We should fight.” Alya wanted to rush into another conflict, even though last time she had crossed the gang she had almost cost them their lives. Apparently, she hadn’t learned at all.

“With what?” Ladybug knew her voice was sharp, but she was focusing too much on not pushing Alya down the stairs to focus on how angry she sounded while whispering. “Our gun is downstairs and they’re only here because you stole from them.”

“Then just give them back the damn bag of rice and tell them to move on! Aren’t you supposed to be a world-class assassin? They should be afraid of you, yet here we are, cowering in the stairs.” Seemingly finished with their conversation, Alya stood up and began to sneak down the stairs. Not paying attention to what she was doing, a stair squeaked beneath her. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, with the gang raising their guns.

Ladybug tried to push Adrien back up the stairs, but their attackers moved too quickly and grabbed them both, dragging them back to where Alya was being restrained. A gun was pressed against each of their temples, the cool metal digging into their skin. “Which one of you thought it would be funny to steal from us?”

Adrien began to stammer, threatened by the guns. Alya seemed indignant, almost offended that she was being held at gunpoint. Was she not bothered that this was her fault?

The leader stepped forward, clicking the safety off his gun. “If you don’t tell us, or you lie to us, we’ll just have to shoot you all and take your supplies. We really don’t have any problems tying up loose ends, especially when they’re as easy to take care of as annoying little bugs.”

She had to tell the truth. Her family was on the line, her own life was on the line. For the first time in months she felt truly afraid, even more than when she had first been hired to kill someone, more than when she first told her parents what she had done in order to survive. This was terror, bone deep and chilling, crawling through her veins like ice and freezing every survival instinct she had.

On the other hand, without Alya looking after them, her sisters would die. They couldn’t look after themselves and they would be alone in the world, an easy victim for anyone looking for helpless prey. But there was nothing Ladybug could do if she was dead herself. There was nothing any of them could do with a bullet in their brains.

But could she really be responsible for more innocent deaths?


	7. Alya Cesaire

She hoped Alya could forgive her for what she was about to do. But she had to, there was no other option. It was Alya or everyone she held dear, and it wasn’t fair that her parents had to suffer because of Alya. Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng were two of the kindest people she had ever met and never deserved to be in the middle of the apocalypse. “It was her.”

Alya’s face twisted and contorted with anger. She struggled against her captor, managing to free an arm long enough to throw an accusing finger towards Ladybug. “She’s lying, I didn’t steal anything!”

The leader stepped over to Alya and smashed his gun into the side of Alya’s head. Her head clouded and she squinted, dazed from the blow. Ladybug and Adrien stayed silent, not wanting to incur the wrath of the leader themselves.

“You, boy, who stole from us?” Adrien looked like he was about to pass out. He was starting to shake, glancing between the gun in front of his face, Ladybug, and Alya as she slowly came back to her senses.

Adrien was thrown to the ground, sliding a few feet before coming to stop, his hands skinned. He glanced at Ladybug before raising a single hand and pointing at Alya. “It was her.”

“No!” Alya let out a scream before she was dropped to the ground in front of Adrien. She tried to escape but was stopped by two bullets to the back of her head. Blood splattered onto Adrien’s face and he sat bolt upright, scratching at his face to try and remove it.

Ladybug was released more gently but still stumbled on her feet. She rushed over to Adrien, grabbing his wrists and pressing them against the ground, preventing him from hurting himself more.

“You can keep the bag of rice.” In seconds, the gang was gone, leaving the door off its hinges and Ladybug and Adrien kneeling on the floor in a pool of blood. Adrien was beginning to sob, his shoulder shaking and his breath rattling loudly.

He began to rock, the sobbing subsiding enough for him to begin speaking, his eyes glassy and unfocused. “It was all my fault, it was all my fault, I killed her, I killed Alya, her sisters are alone now, this is all my fault.”

Underneath his skin, Adrien’s pulse was rapid but weakening. His skin was starting to shine with a thick layer of sweat and was rapidly turning grey. He was going into shock. Out of nowhere, he yanked his arms from Ladybug’s grip and turned to the side, retching violently. This continued for a few moments before he stopped moving.

Reaching out and placing her hand on Adrien’s shoulder, Ladybug could feel his pulse beating through every inch of his body. His skin was clammy and seemed to burn her hand, but Adrien needed comfort. “None of this was your fault. This couldn’t have been avoided, sometimes things just work out for the worst.”

“What about her sisters?”

That was a thought that had flickered through Ladybug’s head when Alya had first stolen the rice from the gang and many times after. Without Alya around to look after them, they would probably die, starving to death alone and afraid. Ladybug had no way of knowing how much food they had left or how well hidden they were, it would be near impossible to find them without that knowledge. Paris was packed with run-down apartments and rubble, creating hundreds if not thousands of perfect hiding places.

Knowing this was another empty promise, Ladybug laced her fingers through Adrien’s. “When we get back to Paris, I’ll look for them and help them find their sister. I promise.”

Adrien was avoiding her eyes. Was he hiding something?

“We need to keep moving, the longer we stay here with the door off its hinges, the more likely we are to be found. Once you’re feeling better, we can have breakfast somewhere.” She didn’t know how to deal with someone going into shock, it was never really something that had come up, but she could keep him talking. That might work, right? If he was distracted from what he had seen, he couldn’t be affected by it. Hopefully. While she was almost completely desensitised to death, Ladybug knew Adrien wasn’t and now wasn’t the right time to process any amount of emotions. That could be done later. For now, survival was the only thing that mattered.

As soon as Adrien nodded in understanding, Ladybug stood up, ignoring the fact that Adrien didn’t seem like himself, even though she kept telling herself that he wasn’t getting worse. If only she could believe that.

“Grab the bags and wait outside, I’ll deal with everything inside.” Ladybug knew she had to give Alya some kind of funeral, even if it was just moving the sheet from the skeleton upstairs to cover her. Her death had been violent and revengeful, maybe giving her some privacy would alleviate the guilt she was beginning to feel.

Adrien picked the cat up, which still didn’t have a name, and walked towards the bags. He picked them both up with ease, even though the kitten had perched itself on his shoulder. The bags didn’t even seem to be a problem when he carried them to the door and outside. Apparently, he was much stronger than Gabriel thought he was. That was always something that shocked Ladybug; just how easily people could go from being naive and innocent into someone more like her in seconds, just because of a single situation.

It wasn’t just the apocalypse that changed people. The akuma attacks that began months before school should have started, just six weeks before the apocalypse began, changed people, too. Loud noises in the streets would make people jump and look around in fear, wondering whether they should run for cover or whether it would be too late. Having an apocalypse destroy everything less than two months later was just cruel. Surviving an akuma was so much easier than living in a fallen world. 

Ladybug jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time until she reached the second floor. The sleeping bags they had used last night were still where they had been left before the gang arrived. Ladybug rolled her and Adrien’s sleeping bags up before pulling Alya’s back down the stairs to cover her body. Once she was finished inside, Ladybug took the rolled-up sleeping bags outside and set them in front of Adrien and their bags.

There was still one more thing she wanted to do. This was still a place where someone had lived, and where two people had died. The building deserved to have its door placed back where it belonged, even if wasn’t in the exact condition it used to be in. They had to be on their way soon, if not right now, so Ladybug propped the door back up in the doorframe and returned to where Adrien was standing. “We should start moving.”

They walked for nearly an hour before Ladybug finally began to feel hungry, a sensation she hadn’t experienced for nearly a day. The last time she had eaten was breakfast before they left, which meant she should’ve been hungry long before this. It was somewhat of a blessing, though, because they had been able to get much further away from the government building than she had originally thought they would.

She hadn’t checked on Adrien or Alya in that time, and neither of them had said anything, which could mean any number of things. Maybe that was part of the reason Alya had stolen the rice in the first place; she didn’t think they had food.

Now that they were on the road again, Alya’s death played on her mind a lot. Something in the back of her mind told her that she could have come up with a plan to save her, to save all of them, but she had opened her mouth and told the truth. A choice that had affected all of them, especially Adrien, but the only other option was to stay silent and let all of them be shot. There was no way to fight everyone else in the room, not when there were so many weapons ready to be used. Another ten, maybe twenty seconds could have been added to their lives, but in the end it ultimately would have been useless.

One life lost was better than three.

But was it only one life? Alya’s sisters depended on her, and even though Ladybug had sworn to herself she would try to find them, she had no idea when she would be back in Paris. It could be weeks or even months from now, and by then it could be too late. That meant she would be responsible for another three deaths. Three too many.

“I’m hungry.” It was the first thing Adrien had said since they left. Since they had strapped their beds back onto their bags and walked away from their actions, leaving behind every reminder of the consequences that had followed. Even Alya’s bag had been left behind, making Ladybug feel a hint of relief that she had repacked the bags last night. This wasn’t the situation she had been imagining while she did it, but it was a good choice, nonetheless. It made everything slightly easier, and they didn’t have to stick around any longer this morning.

Ladybug looked around, looking for any buildings that looked like they would have roof access. One at the end of the street had a visible door on its roof, making it the perfect candidate. The door looked fairly flimsy, too, so it would be easy enough to gain access. She pointed it out to Adrien. “We can eat in there, on the roof.”

Kicking the door open was easy, it was almost rotting away already. Not bothering to investigate the building, Ladybug led Adrien up the stairs, making sure she dodged any obvious holes in the stairs. Someone else had been here before them, but there were no outward signs of life when they arrived, so Ladybug decided she could take the risk. Just this once. After this, she wouldn’t risks that would put Adrien’s life on the line. 

The roof offered a clear view of the streets in front of them, which meant they could see anyone who was approaching them.

With all the chaos that had happened in the past few hours, combined with the lack of food, Ladybug couldn’t remember which bag the lighter was in. They could use the broken door to light a fire, but she would have to sort through the bags until she remembered where the lighter was.

Ladybug held her hand out, offering to take Adrien’s bag. When he handed it to her, she crouched down and started to rifle through the bags, moving everything around haphazardly until her fingers brushed against what she was looking for. Bingo. 

“Stay here and watch the cat, I’m going to grab some of the door so we can light a fire and cook something. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Ladybug said as she dropped her bag and turned back towards the door. While she didn’t exactly want to leave Adrien alone on the roof in his current state of mind, she couldn’t force him to follow her around like a lost dog. 

Conscious of how much time she was taking, Ladybug was back on the roof with an armful of rotting wood in a few minutes. Adrien was sitting near the bags, running his fingers over the kitten’s fur. At least he was still in the same place as where Ladybug had left him. Alya’s death really had knocked him around, it was obvious.

Ladybug dropped the pile of wood onto the roof and reached for the lighter, only to have the kitten race past her, startled by the noise. Without thinking, Ladybug raced after it, catching the tiny animal as it leapt towards the edge of the roof. Before she could turn around and return to the fire, something on the street below caught her eye.

Her parents were standing just outside the building, covered in blood. Ladybug gasped. How did they get here? How did they know where to find her? None of that mattered now, she had to get to them. Racing down the stairs and onto the street, Ladybug searched her surroundings frantically, scanning for any sign of her parents. There was nothing there. There wasn’t even blood on the ground where they had been standing. “Maman? Papa? Where are you?”

Silence was her only reply, and even more confusion. What was going on? Was this some kind of hallucination or was this the universe’s way of making her pay for all the lives she had taken. But why her parents? They didn’t deserve to suffer for her actions, she was only trying to protect them.

Accepting that she wouldn’t find her parents Ladybug walked back inside their building, her feet dragging slightly. When she reached the roof again, Adrien was waiting for her. “Are you okay? You just ran off with the cat. I thought something was wrong.”

Ladybug was about to tell Adrien everything, until she remembered that he wasn’t like her. He had grown up sheltered and had been kept hidden away for the last few months. Her stories of death and murder would only make his situation worse. But if she kept everything locked away in her mind, what would her secrets do to her?

“You can tell me anything, Ladybug.”

But could she really?


	8. Secrets

He said he could tell her anything, which meant she could tell him about what she had done to survive. Adrien had seen how cruel the world could be now, which meant he wouldn’t judge her too harshly. Right?

A shadow of doubt flitted across her mind, but Ladybug pushed it away. She didn’t have anything to doubt, they were safe and had food, only a few things had gone wrong so far, she wasn’t really doing that badly. The only thing that Adrien could hold against her was who her next target was supposed to be, but nothing had actually been carried out. The government that gave her the next target had been overthrown anyway, and she was following different orders now.

“I kill people for a living. I do it for money so my parents can eat and don’t have to worry about their safety.” Without the first sentence, what she had just said could almost be considered normal. Just those words, without the context, they could be interpreted as many things. But both Adrien and Ladybug knew the context they were in.

“Who hires you?” If Adrien was asking questions, it meant he wasn’t judging her yet. Though she had only revealed shallow details, the most surface-level information she could offer. Nothing about her family, or why she had made the choice to become a contract killer.

Ladybug paused for a moment. The simple answer would be whichever government was in power at the moment, but she was never really sure who she was speaking to. There was always something between her and the person who was giving her orders, whether to stop her finding out who they were or because of another reason she couldn’t fathom. “I never knew who they were, just that they were the people I listened to and they worked for whatever government was in power. Or anyone rich enough to pay my fee.”

“What happens to your orders when the governments shift?”

“They get replaced, no matter how complete they are. If another government replaces your father, I could leave you to fend for yourself out here and return to Paris for more work.” She wouldn’t, though. Despite everything that had happened, and all the things that had gone wrong, this was easier than killing people. 

Adrien paused for a moment, thinking. “Did you have orders that were replaced when my father hired you?”

She couldn’t answer that. A single word could lead to more questions that would only push them apart. But silence gave as much away as words did.

“Who was your next target?”

“You won’t want to hear it.”

“Was it me?”

“No.” It wasn’t, but he wasn’t far off being correct.

“I won’t hold it against you, I know you were just following orders. Just like you are now.” Adrien seemed genuine, and there didn’t seem to be anything hiding beneath his words.

“Chloe Bourgeois.”

The silence between them suddenly turned knife sharp and Adrien couldn’t meet her eyes. “Were you going to do it?”

There was no way out of this that wouldn’t push them apart further than they already were. Ladybug knew that if she stayed silent, Adrien would know the answer. If she lied and said no, she would feel guilty. If she told the truth, she could destroy everything they had built together, from their conversation the first time they saw each other to now.

“I don’t think I need an answer.” Adrien stood up and walked away, taking the kitten with him.

Ladybug sat in silence for a while before snapping back to reality. There were still things that needed to be done and sitting around wouldn’t accomplish any of them. Time was slipping past them and they needed to keep moving, regardless of how they felt about each other right now.

An hour later, they were back on the road. Both of their bags were slightly lighter than they had been before, but the silence hanging over them more than made up for it. Neither of them spoke, each for their own reasons. 

Adrien was deep in thought. What if the government changed while they were away? Would Ladybug really abandon him and go back to Paris for new orders? If she did, what would those orders be? She had already confirmed that she was going to kill Chloe Bourgeois, and there was no way to know if she would follow the orders if his name was next on the list.

But would his name be next? He was no threat to a new government if he was away from Paris. If a new government did come into power, they would probably assume he was dead, or would soon die. 

The rest of the day passed in silence. Even when they stopped in another abandoned building for lunch, neither of them spoke. It was awkward, but neither of them was willing to speak first. Ladybug wanted to give Adrien time to think everything over, and Adrien didn’t know what to say. So they stayed quiet.

Hours later, the sun was setting and the pair was back on the road. Just as Adrien was about to speak, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, all he could see was an empty street. Something was wrong, but Ladybug hadn’t noticed yet. She was too busy looking at the buildings they passed, trying to find the best one to stay in for the night. A repeat of last night was the first thing she wanted to avoid.

Had it really only been a little over a day since everything started going wrong? It seemed like much longer, especially with the silence that had been hanging over their heads the entire day. Ladybug was getting more uncomfortable the longer neither of them spoke but didn’t want to push Adrien further away.

“Someone’s over there.” The first words Adrien had said since the disastrous breakfast weren’t exactly the best ones to relieve the tension between them. In fact, they only seemed to make Ladybug even tenser. 

Adrien watched as Ladybug stiffened momentarily before spinning around to check their surroundings. Her eyes skittered over the buildings and alleys, checking for any threats. 

“Where did you see it?”

“Over there.” Adrien pointed to where he saw the shape disappear. “I only saw it in my peripheral vision, though.”

Ladybug reached for her knife instinctively. Who knew what Adrien had seen?

As she scanned their surroundings, Ladybug saw something move in an alley. Without saying another word, she ran over, knife at the ready. She leaned against the wall and listened for noises, only hearing shallow breathing. It seemed there a single person around the corner, which shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Ladybug stepped around the corner with her knife pointed in the direction of the mystery person. “Who are you?”

The second Ladybug realised who was in front of her, she lowered the knife. A small child was huddling against a wall, shivering violently. Her hair was lock and knotted, and there was a long gash along her arm. It was bright red and Ladybug could tell almost instantly it was infected. 

Ladybug crouched down and tilted her head slightly. She spoke softly, trying not to scare the child more than she already had. “Hi, I’m Ladybug. What’s your name?”

There was no reply. The little girl just huddled closer to the wall, trying to make herself smaller than she already was. 

Trying to be patient, Ladybug moved closer. The sun was setting, and time was running out until they were in more danger, and that time was valuable. “I promise I won’t hurt you, but it’s getting dark and we’re looking for a place to stay for the night.”

Surely, she couldn’t leave a child here, but if she didn’t want to come with Ladybug and Adrien, what was there to be done? They didn’t have Alya’s resources anymore, and they only had a few things to deal with sickness and infection. On the other hand, Adrien didn’t seem like the type of person to abandon a child, and it didn’t quite sit right with her, either. 

“Ladybug? Is everything alright?” Adrien appeared next to her at the mouth of the alley. Just what Ladybug wanted to avoid. The second Adrien saw the child, he would want to bring her with them, even if it was an ill-fated decision. Her prediction was right. She watched as Adrien crouched down, offering his hand to the little girl in front of them. “Hi, I’m Adrien. Are you okay?”

Adrien seemed to have more luck than Ladybug did. The little girl moved forward, heading towards Adrien while keeping a wary eye on Ladybug. Soon, she was standing in front of Adrien and was giving him a once over, almost analysing him. Well, analysing him as much as she could despite looking ever so slightly delirious. 

Upon closer inspection, Ladybug could tell this child had been on the streets for a while. Her eyes were clouded over, and she seemed to have trouble focusing. Her skin was flushed and sweating, something Ladybug hadn’t noticed before in the darkness of the alley. 

The encroaching darkness reminded Ladybug of what they were searching for in the first place. Somewhere to stay for the night. There was only a little time left until they were left in complete darkness, stranded among the smashed-out streetlights waiting for something or someone to catch up with them. It was only a matter of time. “We have to keep moving.”

“Is there a building nearby?”

Ladybug shook her head. “We’re running out of time; we’ll just have to pick the safest one around here.”

“I trust you.” Standing back up, Adrien walked back towards the street, the child trailing after him. 

Instantly, Ladybug felt her stomach start to flip. How could she make Adrien leave a child behind to die? They hadn’t even known each other for a week, but she could already tell he would never forgive himself for it. But, on the other hand, having another person that was injured would slow them down, even if it was a child. Another mouth to feed with fewer supplies would only put them at risk of running out sooner, too. She would never be able to make this decision on her own. “Adrien, I need to talk to you.”

“Is everything okay?” 

“Not really. It’s about the little girl.” Ladybug rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, trying to think of her next words. “She can’t come with us.”

Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed, small wrinkles appearing between his eyes. “Why not?”

“She’s injured and sick, and we barely have enough food for the two of us. Bringing her along will only make everything harder, and we don’t know what we’ll have to face before we arrive at our destination.”

“We can’t leave her, she’ll die!” With every word, Adrien became more agitated. He began to pace, running his hands through his hair. Every so often, he would glance back to where he had left the girl. She was playing with their kitten and was calming down, thankfully. “We have to help her.”

“There’s nothing we can do. Even with everything in our first aid kit, she’s beyond help. Besides, we don’t know if she’s supposed to be somewhere. Bundling her up and taking her across the country could leave her in an even worse position, we don’t know when we’ll be getting back to Paris!” Ladybug threw her hands into the air, trying to keep her voice down. The last thing she wanted was for the girl to hear them arguing. 

“Then we seem to be disagreeing. We should sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow morning.”

“We need to make a decision now. Not that there is a decision to make. She can’t come with us.”


	9. Emma

“Fine.” There was no point arguing anymore. Ladybug had already made her mind up, and Adrien knew he wouldn’t be able to change it. “We’ll leave her behind. On one condition, though. We find her somewhere safe.”

Ladybug nodded, even though they both knew there was nowhere safe to leave her. “Okay. But we need to get moving early tomorrow morning, though.”

The teenagers walked back over to the little girl, who had her arms wrapped tightly around the kitten. Neither of them could bring themselves to tell her what they had decided, instead staying silent. As they got closer, Adrien began to move away from Ladybug. Even though he had been the one to give in and agree with Ladybug, he couldn’t help but feel like she was trying to accomplish her goals at the expense of everyone around her. First Alya, now this girl. Who was next?

Adrien crouched down in front of the little girl, speaking gently to her. “We’re going to find somewhere to sleep tonight, so you need to listen to what we say, alright?”

The little girl nodded. Adrien stood back up and looked for Ladybug, only to find her already scouting out buildings. He offered his hand to the little girl, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she walked towards Ladybug, unaware of the choices that had been made about her.

A creak filled the empty house as Ladybug pushed the door open. It seemed sturdy enough, and there wasn’t much time to spare after their encounter with the little girl. Speaking of, Ladybug realised they still didn’t know her name. Maybe it would be easier if it stayed that way, though. Less personal attachment to get in the way of what had to be done.

“This building should do.” Even though she hadn’t checked the upper floors, Ladybug knew this would be the safest place she could find tonight. The light was just about gone, and the sooner they got moving in the morning, the sooner they would arrive at their destination.

An hour later, Adrien was lying awake in his sleeping bag, trying to talk himself into leaving the girl behind. There was nowhere safe to leave her; he knew the hospitals had either been taken over or destroyed, his father had spoken about it enough. All the time he had spent alone during the short weeks before his father rose to power had given him more than enough opportunities to listen to the conversations that had taken place.

Despite everyone’s efforts to keep him in the dark about everything going on, he had been determined to find out, and had stumbled across many dark things. He knew his father wasn’t perfect, but he had done things that Adrien could barely stomach just thinking about them. All the damage his father had caused, all the people he had hurt and killed.

And now, he was going to abandon a child, just like his father would.

His mind still active, Adrien tried to drift off. The longer he focused on clearing his mind, pushing everything else aside. Unfortunately, that left space for Adrien to listen to the other breathing in the room. Two other people, breathing deeply as they slept.

He should be used to this, after all, Alya had only died this morning, but he knew that tomorrow night it would only be him and Ladybug. No more Alya, no more sick children. But he couldn’t worry about that now. Not that much time had passed since he himself had heard Ladybug say they were leaving early. He would need the rest.

Finally, sleep began to settle on him, descending like a dark wave. He allowed it to consume him, hoping it would wash away the events of the past few days. They stuck like mud against his skin, not letting go for anything.

Ladybug woke before the others. She opened her bag and pulled out some food, pushing everything else deeper into the bag. Hopefully, she could save some resources. They had already expended some of the valuable first aid kit last night on the little girl’s injuries, at Adrien’s insistence. Though she knew it was better to save supplies, Ladybug had attempted to help the girl, if for no other reason than to relieve Adrien’s guilt.

Adrien woke up shortly after Ladybug began cooking. Neither of them said anything, only making the situation more awkward. They moved around each other, careful not to get too close. Tensions from yesterday’s decision were still high, and neither wanted to admit defeat and speak first.

They ate in silence, occasionally glancing at each other over their food. A few times, their eyes met, but both glanced away, hoping they weren’t caught. It wasn’t making the situation better and they both knew it.

Finally, Adrien caved. “Emma is still asleep, should we wake her up?”

“Emma?” Ladybug looked up from her bowl, confused. She didn’t know anyone called Emma. In fact, the only time she had even thought about the name was when she was thinking about her future children’s names.

“The little girl. Her name is Emma.” Silence came crashing back down on them. “I’ll go and wake her up. She needs to eat before we leave, even if she isn’t coming with us.”

Ladybug nodded, not wanting to drive the wedge further between them. She stayed silent as Adrien placed his plate down and walked up stairs.

A few moments later there was a loud bang and Adrien came stumbling back downstairs, tripping at the bottom. Ladybug instantly flew to her feet, reaching for anything that could be used as a weapon. Before she could find anything, Adrien pushed himself back onto his feet, wobbling and pale as death.

“Something is wrong with Emma.”

Without thinking, Ladybug sprinted up the stairs. She knew how devastated Adrien would be if something happened to her, and there was always the chance that she could do something to save the little girl. 

But when she laid eyes on Emma, her heart plummeted. The girl’s skin was ashy and pale, and her eyes were closed. There was no colour in her cheeks or lips, and she looked just a little too peaceful to be just sleeping. Despite already knowing what she would find, Ladybug walked over to Emma and placed her fingers against where her pulse should be. Nothing. Emma was gone. 

Something inside Ladybug snapped. Her stomach roiled and she suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. Before she could process what was going on, Ladybug was already running down the stairs and out the door of the building. She turned into the alley for privacy and hunched over. The contents of her stomach emptied out onto the concrete floor, leaving a bitter, acrid taste in her mouth. 

Ladybug continued to retch until her body decided there was nothing left in her stomach. Her energy was completely gone, and Ladybug collapsed backwards against a wall. Images began to flash through her mind, everything that had happened since the beginning of the Power Shift.

The world had changed so much. She had changed so much. So many things were different, and she found herself wishing that everything could go back to way everything had been before. At this point, Ladybug would trade almost anything to have a few more days back in the bakery, preparing to go back to school and hoping she wasn’t in Chloe Bourgeois’ class again. 

Chloe Bourgeois seemed like such a small problem now.

Inhaling deeply, Ladybug pushed herself up onto shaky legs. They had to keep moving. There was no other option. Just as time didn’t move backwards, neither could they. Only one option remained, and that was to keep going, no matter what life threw at them.

[C]|||

High above them, the sun was beaming down the on the two travellers. Their bags were lighter than earlier, just like the silence stretching between them. It still weighed down on them, but the argument about Emma before seemed much more pointless now. 

They had been walking for hours, and Adrien still hadn’t said anything about Emma. He had surmised from Ladybug’s reaction that she had died in her sleep, but didn’t want to bring it up again in case the same thing happened. For now, the best course of action was not to mention it. 

When they were leaving, both of them had decided to leave the sleeping bag behind. Ladybug had slept without one last night, and now there was only one left between them. That didn’t matter, it wouldn’t be too long until they reached their destination. Maybe a week and a half at most, even less if they moved quickly. 

Unfortunately, they were approaching another major obstacle. A checkpoint, run by another gang. 

Ladybug was about to tell Adrien about it, but he spoke first. “I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

Adrien sighed. “I’m sorry for arguing about Emma. You know what you’re doing, and I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“No, you were right to argue. I shouldn’t have been so concerned with myself. She was just a little girl, and I can’t believe I was going to let her die alone because I want to get to Toulouse faster. My actions already killed Alya and I should have learned. If anything, it should be me apologising to you.” Emma’s death and the silence after had given Ladybug more time to reflect. “You’re not used to being in this kind of situation, and I’ve been treating you like you have. I’m sorry, Adrien.”

“Can we talk about this when we next stop to eat? I know we have to pay attention to where we’re going.” The weight was slowly starting to lift from Adrien's shoulders. He had been feeling slightly guilty about the last few days of events, but everything seemed to be looking up.

“Sure.” When Ladybug looked back towards the horizon. The barbed wire fence of the checkpoint was starting to rise above them, and Ladybug knew that they would start to see people in a few minutes. They had to make a choice. “Adrien, follow me.”

She moved off the road and into the thin tree cover that ran parallel. Adrien followed her, and they slipped into an alley nearby. As they crouched behind a stack of broken crates, Adrien began to peer as far out of the alley as he could see. “Is someone coming towards us?”

“No, we’re fine. There’s just another choice to make, and I feel like I should include you in those from now on. I want you to be able to trust me, and the least I can do is ask your opinion.”

“Oh. Of course.” Adrien was surprised, especially since he had been expecting to have to listen to Ladybug and follow her instructions blindly without reasoning, and he had accepted that. He knew that being locked inside for most of his life had left him unprepared for anything outside of his tiny bubble. 

“There’s a checkpoint ahead, and there’s really only two ways to get around it safely.” You could either pay the fee, or go around past the fence that had been erected. Of course, if you didn’t go far enough around you might end up dead, or you could run out of food and starve, but not everyone could afford the toll.

“Can’t we just bargain with them? Or say they’ll be sent more money once we arrive in Toulouse?”

Ladybug couldn’t help the tiny smiled that slipped onto her face. She knew Adrien was trying to make the best of a bad situation, but she still marvelled at how he managed to stay so positive after everything he had seen. “I wish it was that easy, but we really only have two choices here. I have the money your father sent with us, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

Adrien nodded, thinking. This was a lot of pressure, especially after the things he had seen recently. But he could make the right choice, and they would reach their destination safely.


	10. The Long Way Around

“We should go around the long way. Just in case we don’t have enough money.”

Ladybug immediately looked sceptical. “Are you sure? That’s the worse option. Not only could we run out of food, but we could be killed for trying to sneak around.”

“I’m sure. You did ask for my opinion, and this is what I think we should do.” Despite her warning, Adrien stayed firm in his choice. This was the first time he could really make one of the major choices, and he was going to make it count. 

“Okay. We’ll go around. I hope you’re prepared for lots more walking.” Ladybug shifted her bag on her shoulders and walked back towards the street. They would have to backtrack for about an hour and then move parallel to the fence for the rest of the day to be safe. It was another day for the rations to be stretched thin, for something else to go wrong, but she had told Adrien she would trust him.

Nearly an hour and a half later, they stopped for a break before they changed directions. Ladybug looked worried, and Adrien couldn’t help but worry that he had doomed them both. He wanted to tell Ladybug that he had made a mistake, that they should turn around and just pay the toll, but he couldn’t. Something was stopping him.

They would be fine. Ladybug had been surviving since the beginning of the apocalypse, and his father wouldn’t entrust his safety to just anyone, right? This was the right choice.

Exactly ten days later, Adrien was regretting his decision. Their food was almost gone, and they were still days away from Toulouse. They wouldn’t make it before their food ran out, which meant if anything went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Because of one bad decision, their lives were even more at risk than they usually would be. 

For the last few nights, both Adrien and Ladybug had been going to sleep at least partially hungry. They woke up more tired than they went to bed, and it was a struggle to move for a while after they started the day. On top of that, they both felt weak all the time and their bags seemed to weigh a ton.

There had been a few points when they considered sharing the final sleeping bag, just to preserve some of the body heat they were losing due to the lack of food. 

Adrien was hit worse than Ladybug. His entire life he had been safe and well-fed, always had security and the promise that nothing would happen to him. Compared to the rest of the world, the Power Shift barely affected him, and he continued to live his life in luxury. Ladybug didn’t have that. 

Her world had changed so much, just like she had. Even though he didn’t know her before the apocalypse, Adrien had caught glimpses of who she used to be in the time they had been travelling. If they had more time to spend together, he imagined they would be friends, possibly more. Who knows, the world was unpredictable sometimes.

“I wish we had more time together.”

“Even after everything that’s happened? I imagine the last couple of weeks haven’t been pleasant for you.” Pushing through the heaviness in her bones, Ladybug continued to trudge forward. Time was running out for them to arrive in Toulouse, but it wasn’t an arbitrary measure someone had given her. Hunger would kill them sooner rather than later with the amount of exercise they were doing. 

“Despite all of that, I feel like I know a lot about you.” His words distracted him, and Adrien didn’t notice the hole in the ground. He stepped in it and his ankle twisted, sending him sprawling to the ground. Pain seared through his palms and knees, immediately alerting him of the scrapes he had sustained. 

“Adrien! Are you okay?” Ladybug appeared beside Adrien. She wrapped her hand around his upper arm and helped ease him back to be crouching. “We still have the first aid kit, I’ll grab it.”

There was a dull thud as Ladybug dropped her bag on the ground. She rifled through it until she felt the smooth plastic beneath her finger. When she pulled it out of the bag, she flipped the lid open and grabbed the bandages and disinfectant bottle. It was nearly empty, the result of trying to help Emma over a week ago.

Carefully, Ladybug sprayed some of the disinfectant liquid onto the scrapes on Adrien’s knees, trying not to get anything on the pants around the injury. After that, she spritzed some on Adrien’s hands before returning her attention to wrapping the gauze in place. 

Adrien tried to hold back his wince when the scrapes stung. From the very little he had learned about survival during the first months of the apocalypse, he knew he would take longer to heal because of the lack of food and energy he had. 

But everything would get better once they arrived in Toulouse, right? Everything would go back to normal and he would make his father proud. That was his destiny, right? Help fix the world and maybe find a way to get into public school in the process. He was almost sure that after everything he had been through, his father would finally allow him a little more freedom. After all, he had proven himself more than capable of handling a crisis and surviving in a situation like an apocalypse, so going to school without a bodyguard wouldn’t be too bad. 

“Can you walk properly, or should we take a break?” As much as Ladybug wanted to keep moving, she knew Adrien might not be able to. There was no point trying to force him to keep walking, especially if she was trying to repair their relationship. 

“We can keep moving.” Adrien offered Ladybug a smile, one of the fake-but-real-enough ones he had used when he was modelling for his father. It was the first one in months since there was no use for real looking smiles when everyone was out to stab you in the back.

Ladybug looked at Adrien and something clicked into place in her mind. His name had been bothering her since they set off, it seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. But now, with that smile, it all fell into place. 

This was THE Adrien Agreste, the model son of Gabriel Agreste. How had she not realised this before? The wall above her desk had been plastered with his designs, some of them modelled by Adrien, others not. But he was a recognisable person, no matter how involved in fashion you were. It seemed like everyone in Paris knew who Adrien and Gabriel were, for all sorts of different reasons. 

Small things like worrying about celebrities seemed like they were a world away at this point. Ladybug glanced back up at Adrien, scanning her eyes over his face. He looked different from any of the pictures she had ever seen of him, even the more recent ones. He looked older, more weathered, even if he had been locked inside and hidden away from the world for a long time. 

“We should rest, the pain will probably lessen soon. Having to walk with pain will slow us down, and we might end up in more danger that you won’t be able to escape from. I don’t want you to get hurt more.”

Out of nowhere, the black kitten appeared and meowed loudly. Ladybug jolted, remembering for the first time in weeks that they had a cat following them. A cat that still didn’t have a name.

Ladybug smiled at it before moving to look around. It would be best if they rested in a building, away from the world. If anyone were to wander past them now, it could spell trouble. “We should find a building in case someone runs into us. Do you think you can walk a little bit?”

“Yeah, I should be fine.” Adrien pushed himself to his feet. “We really don’t need to take a break, nothing hurts so much that I can’t walk.”

“It’ll be better in the long run if we rest until you feel somewhat better. Besides, this would be a good time to rest and gather as much energy as we can. Since we don’t have much food, we’ll have to lighten the rations more for the next few days.” Ladybug walked over to Adrien and looped her arm underneath Adrien’s. 

Adrien didn’t bother trying to protest, knowing that this was happening because he had made the wrong choice about the checkpoint. One question still bothered him, though, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t worth thinking about.

“How much money would we have needed to get through the checkpoint?”

“They usually take as much money as you have, and if you don’t have enough money they’ll take supplies.” Ladybug pushed the door open and moved them inside. Once they were far enough away from the door, she helped Adrien sit down and dropped her bag next to him. “We should have had enough money, though. It’s not as much as I would charge for a usual job, but your father did give me quite a bit of money for any ‘travelling expenses’ that we might encounter.”

At those words, Adrien felt his heart drop. Why hadn’t he listened to Ladybug when she questioned his decision?

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“Because of me, we’re running out of supplies and everything is going wrong. I’ve even been injured because of the same choice. I should have listened to you before I made us walk the long way.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. Then, his voice dropped, hoping Ladybug wouldn’t hear him.

“Pardon?” Ladybug sat down on the other side of her bag, weariness beginning to take effect once more. Was he speaking quieter than he had been before, or was her body finally shutting down?

“Don’t worry about it,” Adrien said, trying to smile, “everything is fine. I promise.”

A crease appeared in Ladybug’s eyebrows. Should she push him further to answer her question, or should just assume he wasn’t saying anything of importance. After everything that had happened, they still didn’t know that much about each other. Would she be overstepping the boundaries if she questioned him further? As it stood, she didn’t know where those boundaries were, even less so how far she could go before she crossed them.

If she asked further, would he react like he did when he learned her next target was Chloe Bourgeois, or would she find out information she truly wouldn’t be able to stomach? Was she ready for either of those endings?

How was she going to decide when she knew how wrong things could turn out?


	11. Promise Me

“Okay. I trust you, Adrien.” Ladybug smiled at Adrien, even though curiosity was still tugging at her brain. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I don’t really have anyone to tell in this kind of situation, and we’ll be splitting up soon enough, anyway.”

“Thank you, Ladybug. I’ll keep that in mind.” He felt bad for keeping things from Ladybug, but Adrien knew this was just a job to her, nothing more. Besides, it was only one detail, a large one, but still only a single detail. Nothing would matter in the end.

Everything went silent again as both of them ran out of things to say. The weight of secrets untold weighed on their shoulders, pressing down on them more than anything else on this trip had. Would this be the thing that finally drove them apart once and for all?

“We’ll keep travelling tomorrow, but we’ll have to stretch the last of the food a little longer. Try to save your energy so you can heal.”

The hours passed in silence, night fell, they slept, before waking with the sun and preparing to leave. 

Ladybug knew something was wrong, and for the first time was reconsidering her choices. Had she done something to warrant this feeling, or was her mind playing tricks on her? Maybe this was karma for everything she had done. The ghosts of everyone she had killed coming back to haunt her to the end of her days as revenge for what she took from them. 

Their destination was drawing ever closer. Ladybug knew that even at the slowed pace they were currently travelling at, they would arrive tomorrow. She would say goodbye to Adrien, and they would part ways for who knew how long, and then she would return to Paris and fall back into the cycle of working for whoever paid her the most. 

But was it really that simple?

Weeks of travelling with Adrien had ensured that she would never forget about him, never forget the way he looked when Alya had been killed, never forget the horror on his face when she suggested leaving a child to die. Would he forget about her? If he were busy doing whatever he would do to save the world, would he have time to think about their adventure?

He would be doing something so completely different to what she would return to. While her job entailed waiting for hours on end, his would most likely be fast-paced and incredibly dependent on speed. If the end of the apocalypse was to be bought around, the people working to return the world to order wouldn’t wait around for long. 

In fact, they would probably be waiting at the door to collect Adrien and whisk him away to begin his new life. 

Something twinged in Ladybug’s heart and she almost stopped walking in shock. It was something she had never felt before, but she had heard about it. When her parents told her about their first meeting, when she read stories about princesses finding their happily ever after. That feeling had been falling in love, but there was no way she was falling in love with Adrien. Right?

She couldn’t be. Their relationship was strictly professional and nothing more. It never would be. Once they had gone their separate ways there was little to no chance that they would ever see each other again, even less chance that their relationship was in any way salvageable. 

“I should thank you.” Adrien didn’t look at Ladybug, keeping his emotions concealed.

“What for?”

“You’ve kept me alive for weeks, you listened to me when I said we should go around the gate, you didn’t force me to walk after I hurt myself, you still haven’t abandoned me after everything I’ve done wrong. All of that, and we’re still here.” His eyes flicked to Ladybug before looking away. He just wanted to say these things before they arrived at their destination, seeing her face would only waver his confidence. 

Ladybug didn’t have anything to say. What could she say? There was no way she could say it was just a job because it had turned into more than that, and she couldn’t reveal her true feelings because this entire situation was supposed to remain as a simple job with nothing else involved. Apparently, her silence was enough of an answer for Adrien.

“Just promise me something when all of this is over.” Adrien’s step faltered slightly, and Ladybug almost moved forward to catch him before he fell again. “Promise me you’ll go back to Paris once we reach Toulouse.”

The look on Adrien’s face shocked Ladybug. She had never seen him show an expression like this, and to bring up their destination out of the blue, looking this worried? Something was wrong, very, very wrong. Why would he start a conversation about promises now?

“Is everything alright? Is something going to happen? I’m sure there are other ways to end the apocalypse if something bad is coming.” Ladybug grabbed Adrien’s arm and turned him towards her slightly. 

“Everything is fine. Just promise me you’ll go home straight away. Your parents will be waiting for you.” He was stony-faced and serious. It looked like the weight of the past few weeks had crashed down onto his shoulders and everything was finally sinking in. 

But was it the things that had already happened or something that he knew was coming bothering him?

Was it wise to make blind promises? “Okay, I promise. After we reach Toulouse, I’ll turn around and go home.”

“Don’t wait for me.”

“Adrien…”

“Ladybug listen to me. Even though we haven’t known each other for long, I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. Just don’t wait for me.” 

“Fine, but if there’s any chance that you’re in danger I’m going to intervene. I was tasked with keeping you safe, and I’m going to keep you safe as long as I possibly can.”

“No, you’re not going to intervene at all.” Adrien was growing more and more serious, even though Ladybug didn’t think that was possible. Where was the happier, naïve boy she had first met a few weeks ago?

With just a few sentences, the air between them had grown heavy and Ladybug felt sick to her stomach. Adrien knew something she didn’t, yet she didn’t ask. Why hadn’t she? If there was something dangerous in their way that could hurt them, she should have asked more questions. Her job was to keep them both safe. 

Maybe there was something she could do to lighten the mood. But what? Because of the detour, they were out of supplies, so having a nicer last dinner was out of the question. Now, they only had money, and what good would paper be when you were starving? Money was of no purpose in this world, normal people only collected it in the hope the world would return to normal. It appeared Adrien had no such hope, so the notes and coins they had been carrying around were just another useless weight in a bag. 

“Before the apocalypse, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I had sketchbooks filled with ideas, and one of my cupboards was almost overflowing with clothes I had made myself.” This was desperate, even as a last resort. There was no reason for either of them to converse past a need to know basis, especially coming so close to the end of their journey. Tomorrow, they would part ways and most likely never see each other again. 

“An assassin is a little bit different from a fashion designer.”

“People don’t seem to want to buy clothes when they’re fighting people trying to kill them. Money and food ran out, I had to work for the rich to buy food from their storehouses, or I had to normal people for it. Civilians don’t deserve death for trying to survive.” Ladybug paused, wondering if she should continue. She chose to kill rich, powerful people for money because they hadn’t seemed human, but after spending this much time with Adrien, she was starting to reconsider that, even if it was only slightly. He didn’t seem to be high on a pedestal, or place what he wanted over what other people needed to survive or place his comfort above another’s life.

Time had passed quicker than either of them thought. It was dark outside when Adrien finally responded. “Sometimes they don’t seem human, like they’re playing characters in front of each other to see who can win some convoluted game where no one knows the actual rules.”

“It’s getting late, we should cook dinner.”

“I’m not hungry, you can have my portion.” Adrien pushed his hair out of his eyes and reached for his bag. He would be fed tomorrow when they arrived in Toulouse. After all, they were waiting on him, and he couldn’t be the power behind the end of the apocalypse if he was half-starved. 

“You should still eat something.”

Shaking his head, Adrien refused to meet Ladybug’s eyes. He was afraid she would be able to tell too much from them. “I’ll have plenty of food in Toulouse, you won’t. I don’t want you to starve to death before you can get back to Paris.”

Ladybug didn’t argue, though she really, truly wanted to and they arrived in Toulouse the next day. Adrien was practically dragging his feet; Ladybug was lingering a few steps further away from him than she usually would.

Overnight, she had realised something. She had a crush on Adrien, and it had been developing since the first day they met. Ladybug had just been oblivious to it for weeks. Now, they were splitting up and Adrien would never know about her feelings. To be fair, Ladybug barely knew about her feelings, but she could tell they could be a problem if they started affecting her decision making. She needed to be logical, not emotional, and she couldn’t let her feelings ruin the bright future Adrien was trying to make. 

He wouldn’t know because he didn’t need to. Simple. 

In front of them, the building loomed. It had a symbol etched into a new looking plaque above the door, and there were two guards with guns on either side of the door. The security here was high, incredibly so. But, inside were the people who could end the apocalypse, so it made sense. Why Adrien was needed, Ladybug still couldn’t work out. 

“You should turn around now.” Adrien stopped and Ladybug almost bumped into him. They were still a distance away from the building and she was supposed to escort him to the door. “I organised a ride back to Paris for you, I have the address circled on a map.”

“No, I’m coming with you.”

“Ladybug, you promised.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“What?”

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, not Ladybug. I wanted to make sure you knew I was a real person, even under all of this.”

Adrien stepped forward and cupped Marinette’s face, looking into her eyes. “Marinette, you promised to return to Paris safely. You can’t go back on your promise. I’ve arrived safely, your job is completed. Go home to your family.”

“No… Adrien… I can’t leave you here.” Marinette placed her right hand over Adrien’s, trying to keep him with her just a little longer. Her heart was beating quicker and quicker, but she suspected it had less to do with her crush and more with the feeling of knowing at her that something was horribly wrong.

“If you follow me into that building, I will never forgive you. They’ll do horrible things to you in there, trespassers suffer greatly. I don’t want you to get hurt, so you have to go back to Paris. There is no arguing, there is no other option for you. Ignore me, forget me completely, and return to your family. Look after them, find Alya’s sister, trying to find Emma’s family when everything is alright again. Please.”

Marinette really didn’t want to listen to Adrien, but she didn’t think she could live with herself if he hated her, or if she wasted more time that she could use to look for Alya’s sisters. She was responsible for Alya’s death, she didn’t want even more civilians' demises on her conscience.

This was it; the final choice she would make that concerned both of them.

“If you go back to Paris, I’ll make sure you know why everything is happening, why I had to come here. Alright? I just want you to be safe with your family.”

“No one is safe, not even me.”

“You’ll be safer in Paris in a few days. Just go home.”

Marinette inhaled deeply. This barely seemed like a choice anymore. But were any of them choices in the first place?


	12. Goodbye

“I’ll miss you.” She couldn’t believe she was actually leaving, but she knew in her heart this was the better choice. Besides, once everything was normal again, she could find Adrien again, right?

Adrien smiled gently, his face barely moving. “I’ll miss you, too. You’re by far the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

They stood in silence for another few seconds, their hands still pressed together. Even though she didn’t want to, she stepped back, letting their hands fall away. “I supposed I should get moving if I’m going to make it back to Paris any time soon.”

“Before you go, I wanted to give you this.” Adrien dropped his bag to the ground and opened it, pulling a folder out. “Don’t read this until you get back to Paris. Please.”

“Where were you keeping this? I emptied the bags, there was no way I would have missed something like this.” A folder was definitely something important, especially since a folder from the government nearly always contained information, which was invaluable. 

“I kept it with me for most of the trip, but that doesn’t matter. This is all the answers you could want, and I want you to keep it hidden from everyone. No one is to know you have this, not even your parents. The information inside this is too important to be leaked. Alright?”

Marinette nodded, taking the folder from Adrien. If he only wanted her to open the folder once she was back in Paris, she would listen to him. She might not even open the folder once she arrived home, but that was a decision for later.

“Goodbye, Marinette. I hope everything works out for you better in the future, and I hope you can be a fashion designer someday.” Adrien reached for Marinette’s hand and bowed, kissing the back of her hand before standing back up and stepping backwards. 

“Will I ever see you again?” She wasn’t hopeful, but surely it was a question worth asking.

“I don’t know, maybe when everyone is safe again.”

They separated ways, with Marinette forcing herself not to turn around until she was out of sight from the building. If she saw Adrien, there was no way she would actually be able to leave. She could only hope this was the right choice, and that her instincts weren’t betraying her. 

Adrien made sure Marinette was gone before he turned and walked into the building. While he knew Marinette would hate him when she found out the truth, but Adrien would never forgive himself if she was dragged any further into this mess. 

There was a car waiting for her, as Adrien had said there would be. Marinette climbed back inside, the folder tucked underneath her shirt, squashed between her back and the bag she was carrying. She would protect whatever was inside it with her life.

“I assume you completed your task, Ladybug.” Gabriel’s assistant was waiting in the car, sitting impatiently with a stack of papers in her lap. “Otherwise Mister Agreste will not be pleased.”

“Adrien has been delivered to his destination.” Marinette just wanted to get home and read everything Adrien had given her. Sitting around with anyone from the government wasn’t exactly in the top ten list of things she wanted to do right now.

“Good. The drive back to Paris will take roughly seven hours, so I suggest you relax. Can I offer you any food for the return trip?” Her words seemed disingenuous and Marinette began to worry the food was poisoned. If the government wanted to make sure no one knew what happened to Adrien, killing her would make sense. 

But at the same time, Ladybug was struggling to keep her eyes open. The lack of food was taking a toll on her, and if she was unconscious there was nothing stopping the government’s goons from searching her bag or person for anything she wasn’t supposed to have. Maybe a risk of poison was better than certainly passing out. “Food would be good, thank you.”

A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of soup was handed to Ladybug. The sight of it made Ladybug’s stomach turn slightly. Going from rations to a full meal almost immediately was a bad idea, especially in a small car travelling through a dangerous country. 

Marinette ate as much as she could handle before leaning back in her seat, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few weeks. All the death and destruction had begun to take a toll on her, and she just wanted to see her parents again. Being back with her family would make things seem slightly better, even if they weren’t.

To keep her mind from wandering, Marinette tried to think about what she would do once the apocalypse was over. Would her friends return to school, or was everything too ruined to return to normal? The things she had done would live with her forever, no matter how much she blocked it out. Was everything worth it? 

What would happen if someone learned that she was Ladybug? Murder and assassination were both illegal, and if anyone did any digging, they would have more than enough evidence to put Marinette in jail for the rest of her life.

Seven hours later, the car pulled back into the government building and the car door was pulled open for Marinette. She stepped out, squinting in the bright sunlight. The building in front of her looked slightly different, and Ladybug scanned over the walls until she realised what had changed. The bars on the windows were slightly less noticeable. Was that supposed to mean something, the end of the apocalypse maybe?

Marinette was moved through rooms, eventually being returned to the original room she had stayed in a few weeks ago. It still looked like a prison, but there were other things for her to worry about now. The amount of security in the room made it near impossible to read Adrien’s folder without someone catching her.

Secrecy was of the utmost importance right now. 

Somehow, Marinette managed to keep the folder concealed for the next few days. The folder left the government building with her after she had been debriefed and released. Marinette had endured hours of questioning but hadn’t revealed anything past the few basic details that she deemed essential. Nothing about the folder came up and Marinette was more than happy to let it slip past without being mentioned. 

Which left her a final choice, sitting alone in her room, the folder in front of her. It was slightly more bent than it first had been, but that didn’t matter. The only important thing left now was the information inside.

Adrien had risked his life for it. Marinette had risked her life to bring it back to Paris. The people who collected it had risked their lives by being involved with a deadly and corrupt government. Information killed people, information turned people against each other and tore the closest groups apart. No matter how much people in power tried to censor information that would make them look bad, it always got out. Always. Without the free sharing of knowledge, there is no freedom. 

But was having to hide everything for the fear of your life freedom, either? If Marinette opened this folder, there was no turning back. Just a single person knowing about this folder could put her life in danger along with the lives of everyone around her. There was no way to deny knowing what was in the folder once her eyes saw the first few words. 

Could she discard the folder, though? If Adrien hadn’t just told her what was inside, the information clearly had some sway. Would she have changed her mind about returning to Paris, had she read the folder already?

Curiosity was scratching around in the back of her mind, clawing its way to the front of her conscience. She should open the folder. Adrien would want her to know. It was important to read the pages inside. Knowing about the darkest secrets of the government could help her keep her family safe. 

What if it wasn’t government secrets? There was a chance that Adrien hadn’t put anything secretive inside at all, and rather had written a letter about his life before the apocalypse. That was important, sure, but Marinette could have just asked about that stuff. What she really wanted to know was how to bring down the government once and for all, and how to fix everything that had gone wrong. 

That was the first time she had thought about that. The first time she had truly wanted a government to fall, rather than just accepting it passively. With enough people, they could put people in power who would actually save the world, rather than people who just wanted power. Enough people together could change the world. 

And that all started with what was inside the folder. But was she really the best person to set everything into motion?


	13. The Folder

Marinette took a deep breath and opened the folder. On top of the stack of papers inside was a letter from Adrien. His handwriting was neat, and the paper was expensive enough to have an emblem embossed in the corners. 

_ Dear Ladybug (if that really is your name), _

_ You don’t know me yet, but my father says you’ll be the person escorting me to Toulouse. I feel sorry for you, being dragged into things like this without really knowing the truth. No one seems to know the whole truth anymore, not even my father.  _

_ He keeps saying I’m doing the right thing, I’m going to save the world, but I know there’s more he’s not telling me. I want to know, but at the same time I don’t know how I can find out. No one is telling me anything.  _

_ I hope you don’t hate me for the things my father will inevitably blackmail you into. From what I’ve heard about you, you don’t escort teenagers around the countryside.  _

_ Adrien Agreste. _

It was such an impersonal letter, as if written to an idea rather than an actual person. Everything had been stated as fact with the confidence of someone who had never been thrown into uncertainty. How quickly that would have changed. A tiny smile pulled one side of Marinette’s mouth up as she thought about Adrien and their trip. While it had been horrible, looking back, she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. 

The next letter was written in slightly messier handwriting, like Adrien was being hurried by something. Marinette traced the letters of the first line, trying to imagine Adrien writing them. 

_Ladybug,_

_ I asked Father about why I’m being sent to Toulouse, and he said to stop the apocalypse. He said there are other people there, from the past governments, but they only want to get back into power and throw the world back into chaos. Do not trust them. _

_ Despite getting an answer, I’m not sure I can trust it. Father rarely answers my questions, and usually in a way that gives nothing away, while sounding like everything has been said. He’s been working on that for years. Lying with the truth.  _

_ There’s no other way to gather information than to eavesdrop, but I have to be careful now that Father knows I want answers. He doesn’t like people going against his wishes, and there’s no telling what he would do if I broke the rules.  _

_ I wish we could all be free again. _

_ Adrien Agreste. _

The next page was a photocopied document. Some of the words were blacked out, but Marinette could guess a few of them. She reasoned the rest were the names of people and places, codenames or simply terms that she just didn’t know. That was fine, specifics weren’t the most necessary thing right now. Details could be worried about later. 

_ Gabriel, _

_ Everything is organised for our ascension into government. The organisation is willing to give us one month to deliver the final two miraculous, but the consequences will be more severe if we fail. Are you sure you’re willing to offer Adrien for the cat miraculous? _

_ Andre Bourgeois.  _

Miraculous. How was a simple word so important that Gabriel would send his own son across the country to become one? All of the danger, everything that had gone wrong and the things that were narrowly avoided for a simple word. Marinette shook her head, not bothering to endeavour to understand what went on inside Gabriel’s head.

The next page was much of the same, Gabriel confirming that he was sure Adrien would fit the position and he was happy to send him to Toulouse, and that he had been looking into someone to escort him. Marinette realised he was talking about her. 

From the dates on the letters, Marinette realised Gabriel and Andre had been planning this for weeks before she was actually ‘hired’, and that there were more people involved than Marinette could have ever imagined. Getting Adrien across France was bigger than just her and Adrien, it was bigger than even Gabriel or Andre. Whoever was pulling the strings had countless people working under them, following their every order without hesitation. Who were they and how had they amassed so much power?

A letter from Adrien followed the correspondence between Gabriel and Andre. It was even shorter than its predecessors. 

_ Ladybug,  _

_ Something isn’t right here. People whisper about things but pretend they weren’t speaking when I ask. I want to find out more, but I’m worried what will happen if someone catches me stealing papers from Father.  _

_ There are whispers that you’ll be arriving in the next few days. When that happens, I’ll have to stop writing to a hypothetical person, won’t I? _

_ Adrien Agreste. _

Had someone caught him? It was possible, but the amount of paper still left in the folder made it unlikely. She just had to keep reading. There was no other way to learn of what Adrien was doing now, or whether he was okay.

Images filled Marinette’s mind as she tried to think of what Adrien was up to. The fact that a single teenager could save the world still seemed off to her, but surely Adrien would be fine. No one in their right mind would send their son into danger, not even Gabriel. 

The next page was another letter, this one longer. 

_ Ladybug, _

_ We just met, and I can tell you probably don’t like me or your new job. I can’t blame you. Compared to you, I must look like a spoiled brat who’s never had to work to survive for a day in his life. Even though that is true, I want to prove that I can be helpful to you.  _

_ I hope coming to your room at this time of night didn’t make you dislike me even more, but I really did want to have a chance to make a better impression. I apologise if it didn’t seem that way.  _

_ For now, I’m writing this letter in the off chance I give all of this information to you at some point. I want you to know as much as I do, but I’m not sure how much you trust me right now. If I just give you the information I’ve been gathering, you might think its something my father has masterminded to trip you up. I swear on my life that it isn’t like that.  _

_ Adrien Agreste. _

The next few pages were more information that Marinette skimmed over and ignored. Since beginning to read the files, she had realised how much she missed Adrien and how much she just wanted to see him again. His letters were the closest she could get to that now.

Marinette’s fingers as she tightened around the folder, holding onto it like she should have held onto Adrien. But it was too late now, and they wouldn’t see each other for a long time. Marinette refused to even entertain the idea that they would never see each other again. 

As she got closer to the last page in the folder, a sense of dread began to grow in Marinette’s stomach, spreading outwards like vines. She didn’t want the letters to end, she wanted to keep pretending everything was fine and Adrien was just telling her stories late at night. All she wanted was for things to be okay again…

The next letter appeared the be the last. It was much, much longer than all of the letters before. Marinette quickly realised that this letter was the explanation she had been waiting for the entire journey. All those weeks of questions were about to be answered, but she was hesitating. Could she handle what was written in this letter? 

_ Dear Ladybug, _

_ Thank you, for everything. I’m still alive, even after everything we’ve gone through. I’ve learned lots of things and realised even more. As I’m sitting here writing this, I can’t even begin to tell you all the ways you’ve changed me since this little adventure began.  _

_ Since learning about you, I’ve questioned my father’s decisions more instead of just accepting them as fact, and I’ve gotten to make choices that are actually important. All of it because of you.  _

_ Now, I’m sure you want to know what will happen to me when we reach Toulouse, correct? Before now, no one will have told you anything to ensure you don’t ruin the task, and I don’t want you to intervene either.  _

_ The building you’ll drop me off at is the Miraculous Headquarters. They’re partly responsible for the current situation, and they created it so they could have power behind the scenes. They’re also the reason the other governments have failed to hold power for more than a few weeks.  _

_ In order to keep yourself in power, you have to offer them some kind of power in return. A holder. Me. The other people that were sent by the other governments. There are only two more spots, the most powerful and deadly ones. The cat and the ladybug. I’m sure my father and his friends heard about you and thought the stars were lining up perfectly for them.  _

_ Unfortunately for the other governments, they couldn’t part with seven of their friends or family to fill each slot, so they were removed and replaced. The people who are already holders stay where they are forever, half dead but not quite gone, powering the miraculous. You don’t come back from Toulouse.  _

_ By now, I’m sure you’ve connected the dots and I want to apologise one more time. I’m writing this, knowing that tomorrow is the last time I’ll ever see you, and I’m going to die without you knowing the truth. There’s no way to stop this Ladybug, but I can tell you everything I’ve wanted to tell you for days now.  _

_ I have feelings for you, and I wish it could be different. I really do, but I also couldn’t stand knowing I was the reason you died, the reason you were plugged into a machine and drained like a battery. You care so much about your parents and the world you want to return to, and you deserve to go back to them.  _

_ Now that I think about it, sending you back to Paris is a selfish thing to do. Because of my actions, making you promise to return home, I’m prolonging the apocalypse and forcing the rise of a new government. I can only hope that everything is more stable once they find their Ladybug. I don’t care who it is, as long as you’re safe. _

_ Please don’t cry about me being gone. I accepted this when I first found out about it, and I don’t regret making you promise to return to Paris, no matter how selfish that was. If it meant you’re slightly safer, I would die a thousand times over without a second thought.  _

_ Thank you for everything, Ladybug. There isn’t a moment of our journey together I would trade or get rid of. I just wish we could have had longer together without impending doom or the constant threat of death. I wish I could see you become a world-renowned fashion designer and accomplish all your dreams, but this was the only way to give you a chance at them.  _

_ See you in the next life. _

_ Love, Adrien. _

The letter fell from Marinette’s hands to the ground as she began to shake. Sobs tore out of her throat as she cried, wishing there was some way to go back in time and save Adrien, or at least tell him how she felt. 

But it was too late now, and the choices that brought them here had already been made. 

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking back at this, there are so many plot holes lol  
> I hope you enjoyed the fic!


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